Originals

Original Pencil - Original Available Pencil drawing of infamous Bruce master moonshiner of Gatlinburg, TN

Major original that helped create the pencil "Hideaway" that has given a children's Home a chance to raise over $200,000 with Paul Murray prints Part of our "Paul Murray Passing it Forward Project"

Paul & I had met many a moonshiner over our 40+years research in the Appalachian's. We have never met such a gregarious character as Popcorn Sutten. Here is just a snipit about his life and death. A great remembrance of Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton from this weekend’s edition of the Wall Street Journal. Obituary Of Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, A Tennessee Moonshiner March 22, 2009 A scrawny, long-bearded mountain man with a foul mouth and a passing acquaintance with copper tubing and...

Paul & I had met many a moonshiner over our 40+years research in the Appalachian's. We have never met such a gregarious character as Popcorn Sutten. Here is just a snipit about his life and death. A great remembrance of Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton from this weekend’s edition of the Wall Street Journal. Obituary Of Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, A Tennessee Moonshiner March 22, 2009 A scrawny, long-bearded mountain man with a foul mouth and a passing acquaintance with copper tubing and kettles, Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton seemed the embodiment of moonshiners of yore. Brought up in rural Cocke County, Tenn., identified as one of four “moonshine capitals of the world” in the corn-whiskey history “Mountain Spirits,” Mr. Sutton learned the family trade from his father. The practice goes back to the Scots-Irish, who brought it to the New World, and it wasn’t illegal until after the Civil War, says Dan Pierce, chairman of the history department at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. “This is something that legitimately is an expression of the culture of this region,” Mr. Pierce says. Like his forebears, Mr. Sutton had brushes with the law, and was first convicted of selling untaxed liquor in the early 1970s. He mostly kept out of trouble after that, though friends say his nickname came from an unfortunate encounter with a balky barroom popcorn machine. But he was well known as a distiller around his native Parrottsville. He was a familiar figure at the Misty Mountain Ranch Bed & Breakfast in nearby Maggie Valley, N.C., wearing faded overalls and with a back stooped, he said, from decades of humping bags of sugar into the hills. He picked the banjo and serenaded guests on the inn’s porch. He helped decorate the $155-a-night Moonshiner suite at the inn with some still hardware. Mr. Sutton put a modern spin on his vocation, appearing in documentaries and even penning an autobiography, “Me and My Likker.” Souvenir shops in Maggie Valley sold his video, “The Last Run of Likker I’ll Ever Make,” and even clocks with his image on them. Other moonshiners have gone legit and cashed in; a former Nascar driver and moonshiner now offers Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon in Southern liquor stores. But Mr. Sutton insisted on earning a living the old-fashioned way, and in 2007, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives busted him with 850 gallons of moonshine, stored in an old school bus on his property. He was convicted in 2008 and was due to report to prison Friday, his widow, Pam Sutton, told the Associated Press. Instead, facing the verdict and ill health, he was found dead by Ms. Sutton at the age of 62 on Monday, and authorities suspect carbon-monoxide poisoning, according to the AP. The Cocke County district attorney’s office said it is investigating the death. Although Tennessee was once a hotbed of moonshine and federal “revenuers” pursued bootleggers through the hills, an attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Greeneville says he couldn’t remember the last federal prosecution of a moonshiner. “Modern-day moonshining is the manufacture of methamphetamine,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg L. Sullivan says. “Tennessee is in the top five states nationally.” Ms. Sutton discovered her husband in his green Ford Fairlane. “He called it his three-jug car,” she told the AP, “because he gave three jugs of liquor for it.”

Her Zoe' is cradling her day old baby lamb. He's fallen asleep and Zoe' won't move for nothing. She dare not wake him up, even though her arms are getting tired. available in print 2013 fall.

Almost complete, just a few more touches and this major new area of Paul Murray including Smoky Mountains waterfalls. Enjoy Zoe' in her favourite caped coat. She is trying not to get it wet while she figures out how to cross this river without getting her cape wet. Paul says that Zoe' is growing out of her baby years and making bigger and bigger decisions in life. What will be the end result of her life decisions.

There sat Aunt Emily by the window in her favorite chair, like a queen on her throne… her royal cape over her shoulders.. the delicate light of dawn dancing over her face. “…her all knowing glimmer …the secrets she holds …her forever majesty!” We felt as though we were in the presence of a queen; when she spoke her stories spilled out like music in a song. She told us of days long past. Still, we were awed by the...

There sat Aunt Emily by the window in her favorite chair, like a queen on her throne… her royal cape over her shoulders.. the delicate light of dawn dancing over her face. “…her all knowing glimmer …the secrets she holds …her forever majesty!” We felt as though we were in the presence of a queen; when she spoke her stories spilled out like music in a song. She told us of days long past. Still, we were awed by the strength of her presence. After a while, we said good-bye unknowingly for the last time. Emily died a short while later. Another legend lost.” PM

Study for " Aunt Emily" - oil Paul Murray spends months to years researching the folks still living this primitive, proud lifestyle. Then he spends many months, some times as many as 18 months creating the perfect pose and way to capture the essence of the subject. In Aunt Emily he created a masterpiece, and many of his prepatory studies, are wonderful. Call if you are interested in having him finish a study for you. The price ranges...

Study for " Aunt Emily" - oil Paul Murray spends months to years researching the folks still living this primitive, proud lifestyle. Then he spends many months, some times as many as 18 months creating the perfect pose and way to capture the essence of the subject. In Aunt Emily he created a masterpiece, and many of his prepatory studies, are wonderful. Call if you are interested in having him finish a study for you. The price ranges by medium and size $2400 to $5800...call for info 1-800-567-3220 ask for Kati-Jane J.