Art Academy Builds Reputation on Real-World Successes of Students

Tucked away in the quasi-industrial area of Hillsborough Business Park hides a small studio that is building a reputation as one of the best art schools around.

It's a reputation Kevin Murphy's Art Academy of Hillsborough has built by providing real-world, practical skills to its students, skills that they use to earn an income—or for many, obtain thousands of dollars in scholarships to the nation's most prestigious art schools. Murphy said his student's scholarship totals average about $70,000.

Murphy, a Bronx native who learned painting and art skills without formal training, has such a finely honed teaching method, he not only guarantees some of the academy's classes, but also says he can give anyone the skills needed to begin a professional career painting.

That's a message he says he'd like more students (and their parents) to fully grasp: after a year or two in his classes, a high school student will be skilled enough to accept commissions—paying commissions.
 
"I'm not talking about hundreds of dollars—I'm talking thousands," Murphy said. "These kids see there's a lot of money to be made."

The proof is in his success with the roughly 200 students who have attended the art academy since its opening. Murphy said none of his students who applied for art school scholarships failed to receive substantial aid, and all who have pursued portraiture have built solid incomes.

Further proof is on display in Hillsborough's municipal courtroom, in the gallery of portraits on display painted by academy students who won year-long apprenticeships. Murphy said 14 students are invited to compete each year, with one selected based on the results of a drawing test. The apprenticed student paints a portrait for the township (this year, Bridgewater-Raritan High School student Jackie Lin was tapped to paint the portrait of Shaun O'Hara), and enjoys unlimited access to the studio.

"I give them keys to the studio—they get carte blanche," Murphy said.

His method skips the years-long drills of college programs, focusing on two keys areas that Murphy said advances students much more quickly. Starting with charcoal drawings, students are usually able to produce drawings reproducing—very literally reproducing—photographed still lifes within a few months.

After that, it's just a matter of adding color, Murphy said.

And anyone making the effort can replicate his methods, he said.

"I'm self-taught—I had to figure this stuff out myself," he said, adding he quickly learned how to make a living from his art. "I had to sort of get down in the mud and fight for it."

Murphy added he doesn't believe much in "talent"—"Hard work is what does it," he said.

But that doesn't mean more experienced students can't grow under his tutorship: Lillian Chen said she's been an artist for most of her life, but never thought she'd be able to paint—she was more focused on digital art and animation.

"Before I came here, I thought I would give up on it," she said, then held a self-portrait she'd recently completed. "This piece is one I'm most proud of."

His students range in age from very young to retirees, but Murphy said he'd really like to work with more students in the early high school years.

"Of all the things I offer, time is the most valuable," he said, noting students in high school can build solid resumes with artwork that leaves a lasting impression on college application readers—even for students not planning to study art. "Everybody's got piano on their resume; everybody's got all those things on their resume but you show them a professional piece of artwork and they remember."