John Murdoch

John Murdoch (born 1971) is an American painter, portraitist, and art teacher. He is the founder of Gold Light Studios and the Classical Art and Atelier Fund. Life and work Murdoch was born in Oak Lawn, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. From an early age he developed drawing skills in anatomy, perspective, and figure drawing. He attended the American Academy of Art on scholarship where he was mentored by artists Lou Ann Burkhardt and Fred Berger. Murdoch's work at the academy was influenced by William Mosby and realist painter Richard Schmid. Following this he studied at The Atelier, Minneapolis, and at the School of Representational Art in Chicago where he studied under Mike Chelich and Bruno Surdo, and was mentored by portraitist Richard Halstead.