Some artists pursue their talent only in retirement, after concluding careers for which they settle when society pressures them to conform. Robbie Murphree-Gabriel took a different route, steering herself along a vibrant river the contours of which she seems to know by instinct.
Raised in the East Bay, Murphree-Gabriel went to high school in Pleasanton where the creative arts fascinated her. In drama, ceramics, and drawing, she excelled; an early precursor to her later life’s passion. She remembers the time after high school as “typical teenage years”, working in a ski-resort at Bear Valley and falling in love.
By twenty-three, she had two children. Along the way, she had fallen in love with creative writing at Diablo Valley College. Like many creatives, Murphree-Gabriel has a blog, at which her passion for writing finds a natural outlet. Parenting her sons provided another venue for her artistic drive. “I always had a large box of supplies,” she says, gesturing with her hands held far apart. “Whenever my sons and their friends were around, I’d get it out and we’d draw or paint.” She pauses. “Even now, when I take my niece and nephew to the museum, I bring sketchbooks and we have an hour or so of art time.” Her dancing eyes suggest how good she must be at that, the teaching part of creativity.
Murphree-Gabriel eventually did as many artists do. She pursued a profession, hers in computer, selling hardware and software. But still, she managed to use her talent, for literary art this time, called upon to create presentations. Later, after she moved to Vallejo, she found that old box of art supplies. She kept chickens at the time, and for some reason, she decided to paint a portrait of one. “Called ‘Sunny’,” she remembers. She still has the piece.
The tension of the corporate world overbore her at times. She started fiddling with a paint brush during a conference call in her home office. Unexpectedly, she felt the stress flow from her body. She discovered that she could paint while staying focused, remain relaxed, and work through whatever the conference calls involved. Eventually, she realized that the painting satisfied her so much that she wanted, needed, to try to make that her life.
She left her corporate job and started managing logistics for a yacht company. She’d always been drawn to the water and intends some day to sail the world. In the meantime, she began painting the sea, and the boats, and anything that called to her. She also took comfort in art during a particularly stressful period of life, something she has not forgotten and intends some day to share with others.
“Then my mother got sick,” Murphree-Gabriel says, suddenly, and falls quiet. She continues: “Now I’m here, taking care of her, doing what she needs me to do. Doctors, treatment, errands, transportation. Whatever she needs.”
As for painting, she does that in her mother’s garage. She paints landscapes like a storyboard, beginning with what she sees, and then asking herself what she feels. Little by little, she imparts those emotions to the canvas, with color mostly, but with form as well. She stands back from the work and studies it, connecting, waiting, adding, until she knows that it is finished. Certainly, seeing her work, one cannot mistake the passion with which she pursues the rendering.
Murphree-Gabriel hopes to use art on three planes: As a path to personal authenticity; as a commercial basis for her own livelihood; and as a vehicle for helping others, especially women in shelters. Because art rescued her during a time of crisis, Murphree-Gabriel wants to create something — a workshop; a program; a method — which will enable her to share that benefit with others. “We are put on this earth to create,” she quietly says. “The form of expressing that creative urge can be different from person to person. But we should not deny our essence.”
With photographer Jake Kimbrell, Murphree-Gabriel has organized the July 13th art show to bring together artists throughout the Delta. “This can be the beginning,” she says. “This is the first step towards something far greater.” Hearing her story, knowing how Murphree-Gabriel has navigated life with a splendid, sturdy ship of her own creation, one cannot help but have faith in her vision for art in the California Delta.
Editor’s Note: On 13 July 2019, twenty Delta-based artists will participate in a group show at Park Delta Bay in the Community Room and under the big tent. We will be featuring profiles of some of the participating artists, of which the following are two. We hope this introduction will inspire you to come see all of the art on display and to explore the work being shown.
