#5 Dried Avocado Pit with Skin, 2019, oil on board, 7" x 10"

#5 Dried Avocado Pit with Skin, 2019, oil on board, 7" x 10"

#77 Polly Miniature Ice Bucket, 2021, oil on cardboard, 6" x 3.25"

#77 Polly Miniature Ice Bucket, 2021, oil on cardboard, 6" x 3.25"

#67 Pear on Paper, 2020, oil on canvas, 14" x 11"

#67 Pear on Paper, 2020, oil on canvas, 14" x 11"

#59 Dead Bee, 2020, oil on board, 5.18" x 6.15"

#59 Dead Bee, 2020, oil on board, 5.18" x 6.15"

#29 Jar with Green Tea and Cherries, 2019, oil on canvas, 14" x 11"

#29 Jar with Green Tea and Cherries, 2019, oil on canvas, 14" x 11"

#52 Coffee Filter with Ball Jar, 2019, oil on canvas, 14" x 11"

#52 Coffee Filter with Ball Jar, 2019, oil on canvas, 14" x 11"

#12 Carrot in a Glass, 2019, oil on board, 8" x 5.12"

#12 Carrot in a Glass, 2019, oil on board, 8" x 5.12"

#26 Avocado Half with Spork, 2019, oil on panel, 11" x 14"

#26 Avocado Half with Spork, 2019, oil on panel, 11" x 14"

#6 Willoughby Charcoal, 2019, oil on board, 11.5" x 7.5"

#6 Willoughby Charcoal, 2019, oil on board, 11.5" x 7.5"

#7 Seed Pod from Nora, 2019, oil on board, 5.16" x 6.75"

#7 Seed Pod from Nora, 2019, oil on board, 5.16" x 6.75"

100 Things
Series of 100 oil paintings on canvas, panel, and wood, ranging in size from 3” x 2” to 22” x 28”, 2019 - Ongoing

"There is a tremendous openness to the progression of life in these works as Murphy Spicer
dutifully, carefully, records the world before her.”
Michael Royce, excerpt from essay in Some of the 100 Things exhibition catalog

With the 100 Things series, the act of painting becomes a meditation on single objects, depicting them with fidelity to a visual reality and also with a concern for the materiality of the paint. The objects are chosen sequentially without a thought to an overall cohesive body. Thus, as a collection, they form a kind of quirky, personal diary of life over the past couple of years, at times referencing seasons, family history and events, and significant places.

This project became all the more poignant during the time of the pandemic as I quarantined, circumstances further focusing my attention on the small world within view at home and in the studio.