Arts and Entertainment

A story worth telling: Roger Murray inspired by landscapes around county

January 15, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Born in the UK in Essex County, Roger Murray loved making art as far back as he can remember.

“Even as a child, I loved to draw and paint and was encouraged by my teachers at school who often pinned my work on the classroom wall,” he said. “One such picture was of a gypsy caravan.

“We often had these travellers in our neighbourhood … coming around the houses selling clothes pegs and other odd items. Their colourful horse drawn wagons were quite beautiful and artistically decorated.”

At about eight years old he created a funny cartoon with a caption which was published in his favourite comic Beano and for which he was paid ten shillings – a lot of money back then!

Perhaps, this was all youthful fodder to guide his life.

Murray left school at 15 to work as a trainee coffin maker at an undertaker’s, which was interesting as he was at the time interested in carpentry.

He later managed to get a job with an ad agency on Fleet Street in London and so started his commercial art career.

Murray began working as an artist for different advertising agencies until he became the head of the graphics department for the Gas Council in London, which headed up the entire gas supply in England. Murray was in charge of public display, including the big billboards to advertise the work of the Gas Council.

In the 1960s, he was an art director and photographer in London at St. Martin’s School of Art. Then he moved to Canada.

“In 1971, we established a design studio in Toronto and published magazines,” he said. “Then, in 1982, we started publishing a studio magazine, which was a commercial art, photography, and illustration magazine.

“That was very successful, circulating to 35 countries,” Murray said.

Meanwhile, they were also producing 12 corporate magazines for different corporations like Scotiabank.

They even produced a children’s magazine called Getting There and sponsored by Scotiabank. It carried different subjects but was also aimed at children opening bank accounts at Scotiabank.

Despite of how easy it seemed to do well with commercial art, Murray wanted to get back to art and to answer some questions he had about his own future there.

At age 55, he enrolled in a fine art course, two days a week with the Toronto-based Academy of Realist Art.

The academy focused on teaching drawing and painting skills based on 19th Century European atelier techniques.

Currently, he is interested in painting landscapes around Caledon where he and Barbara live. Finding himself interested in trees, he says, “We need them. Without trees we cannot live.”

He also accepts commissions for portraits.

Three years ago, he started teaching private lessons.

Like any artist, Murray is curious to know the value of his work to art patrons, how to set prices on his paintings.

A couple of years ago, he put a still life painting on Facebook and priced it at $4,500, then was a little surprised when the price was no problem to the buyer. Another painting of his hangs in the Denison Gallery in Toronto, with a $16,000 tag on it.

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