For artist Murray Sease, inspiration often begins at the farmer’s market.
A basket of ripe peaches. A weathered face beneath a wide-brimmed hat. A dog with soulful eyes. Shore birds gathered at the water’s edge. These are the moments that catch her attention – the ordinary scenes many people might pass by without a second glance. But through Sease’s eyes, they become worthy of preservation in oil paint, transformed into vibrant works that celebrate both the beauty and spirit of the Lowcountry.
Murray Sease sits on her front porch in Bluffton with a few of her latest paintings.
After decades spent working as a graphic artist, Sease has embraced painting full time, building a body of work that reflects not only technical skill, but also joy, curiosity, and a genuine affection for her subjects. Her paintings range from still lifes and landscapes to wildlife, portraits, market scenes, and commissioned pet portraits, each infused with warmth and personality.
“I love everything I paint,” Sease said with a laugh. “If it’s a commission of something that I wasn’t interested in, I’d probably just turn it down – but that hasn’t happened yet.”
That enthusiasm is evident in every inch of her work.
Today, Sease’s paintings can be found through her website, Shine On Art, as well as at La Petite Gallerie, the Bluffton cooperative gallery she has co-owned with a group of artists for more than a decade. However, the journey to becoming a full-time artist was not necessarily one she expected. “I was actually a graphic artist for my whole career until just two years ago,” Sease said. “I stopped doing that entirely and am painting full time now.”
While art had long been part of her professional life, fine art painting emerged later, thanks in part to a little encouragement from an unexpected source. “I hadn’t really painted much until about 15 or 16 years ago,” Sease said. “My mother, of all people, convinced me to get involved with the Society of Bluffton Artists.”
Sease at home in her studio with her pups, Albert and Lizzie.
That suggestion proved life changing.
Sease began taking workshops and quickly discovered a passion for painting that steadily grew stronger. What started as curiosity evolved into commitment, and eventually into a thriving second career. “I got really excited about it,” she said. “And I’ve been painting hard ever since.”
Though she experimented with different mediums along the way, oils quickly became her artistic home. “I’ve tried watercolor and acrylic,” Sease said. “Watercolor, with a mind of its own, is too much of a challenge for me.”
Instead, she gravitates toward the richness and flexibility of oils, appreciating the way the medium allows her to build depth, texture, and emotion on canvas. “I think what you paint with – what you get used to – is what really works the best for you,” she said. “I just really like oils a lot.”
Occasionally, she also works in gouache, an opaque watercolor medium she appreciates for its speed and velvety matte finish. “If I’m hurrying up to get ready for a show or something, I’ll do some gouache paintings at the last minute,” she said.
Regardless of medium, Sease’s work consistently reflects her deep connection to the Lowcountry and the people who inhabit it. “I’m very much inspired by our surroundings here,” she said. “I love to paint farmers market scenes.”
Inspired by the Lowcountry
That love of local color is immediately apparent when browsing her portfolio. Produce paintings feature luminous peaches, tomatoes, peppers, and other fresh finds arranged with painterly elegance. Her animal portraits are expressive and full of life. Market vendors, fishermen, dancers, and farmers all appear as recurring characters within her work, celebrating the culture and texture of the region.
Sometimes, the inspiration comes directly from everyday encounters. “The black lady fishing – I met her on the docks and asked if I could photograph and paint her,” Sease recalled with a smile. “She said, ‘Sure, just make me look skinny.’”
Other paintings feature people she knows personally, including local market vendors and familiar community faces. “The cotton farmer was actually one of the farmers market guys,” she said. “He shared a wonderful photo of himself standing in a cotton field.”
There is an authenticity to Sease’s work that comes from genuine observation. Even when she paints from photographs – a practical necessity for moving subjects or changing light conditions – her paintings retain a sense of immediacy and intimacy. “I really admire the artists that can handle the changing light and shadows,” she said. “But I’m not very good at it, so I generally work with photos.”
For still lifes, however, she often begins from life itself. “I’ll go to the market and come home with some goodies and set them up on my back patio,” Sease said. “Then I’ll start some still life paintings from life.”
Eventually, life intervenes – as it tends to do – and the fruit may soften or the light may change before the painting is complete. “I’ll often get sidetracked and have to photograph them and finish the paintings later in the studio,” she said.
That balance between spontaneity and practicality seems to define much of Sease’s artistic process. She approaches her work with professionalism, certainly, but also with humor and humility.
Asked about her favorite subject to paint, she struggled to narrow it down. “That’s a hard one,” she admitted. “It depends on the day.” An adorable pig might become the favorite one day. A fresh peach the next. “It really just depends on what excites me in the moment,” she said.
Sease displays her artwork at La Petite Gallerie in Bluffton.
Painting with Personality
That excitement is contagious in her paintings. Her brushwork feels alive, and her compositions often highlight beauty in overlooked places – weathered hands, baskets of vegetables, muddy boots, fishing docks, sleepy dogs.
Even her commissioned pet portraits, which she says come with “a lot more pressure,” carry emotional resonance beyond simple likenesses. “I’m working on two right now,” she said. “Commissions are always a challenge.”
But they are also deeply personal. For many clients, a beloved dog or horse is part of the family, and Sease understands the responsibility that comes with capturing that bond on canvas. Her portraits manage to preserve not only physical features, but also expression and personality.
That ability to convey emotion may stem from her lifelong background in visual communication. Years spent as a graphic artist taught her how to guide the eye and tell stories visually. But painting, she discovered, offered something different, something more personal and emotionally rewarding.
Now working full time as a painter for roughly two years, Sease says she is enjoying this season of life immensely. And the community has embraced her work.
At La Petite Gallerie, where six artists collectively own and operate the cooperative gallery, Sease interacts directly with visitors and collectors. Each owner works one day per week, creating an atmosphere that feels personal and welcoming rather than commercial.
The gallery has now been part of Bluffton’s art scene for 11 years, and Sease has been involved since the beginning.
In addition to the gallery, she participates in a handful of outdoor festivals each year, opportunities that allow her to meet new collectors and build lasting relationships with buyers. “I get a whole lot of customers that will then follow me and come to the gallery later,” she said.
Capturing the Quiet Moments
While she modestly downplays certain aspects of her talent – particularly landscape painting – her collectors clearly disagree. “There are so many artists here locally that are really superior landscape artists,” Sease said. “But I have fun with it. I love to do them.”
That humility is part of what makes Sease so approachable both as an artist and as a person. She speaks openly about continuing to learn, experimenting with subjects, and simply enjoying the act of painting.
Perhaps that authenticity is precisely why her work resonates.
There is no pretension in a Murray Sease painting. Instead, there is sincerity. Observation. Delight. A celebration of life’s quieter moments.
In a world increasingly dominated by fast-moving digital images, Sease’s paintings invite viewers to slow down and notice the details: the sheen on a ripe tomato, the texture of feathers, the soft expression in a dog’s eyes, the golden Lowcountry light resting on marsh grass.
For Sease, art is not about chasing trends or creating distance between artist and audience. It is about connection.
Whether she is painting a market vendor she met in Bluffton, a fisherman on the docks, or a beloved family pet, her work begins with paying attention to the world around her and finding beauty there.
After years spent helping others communicate visually through graphic design, she has finally given herself permission to fully step into her own artistic voice.
Thankfully for the Lowcountry art scene, she did.
Collectors interested in learning more about Sease’s work or commissioning a painting can visit her website at ShineOnArt.com or stop by La Petite Gallerie in Bluffton, where her paintings continue to capture the color, character, and charm of the Lowcountry she loves.
To learn more or to commission your own exquisite work of art, visit ShineOnArt.com.