Putting women in sport on the map (and drawing pad).
This week we caught up with the hugely talented Jennifer Murphy, the woman behind the fantastic sports sketches that have become a massive hit on social media to find out how it all began, how she and her right knee are learning to live with each other, and more importantly, all about her legend of a sports mad, quad-biking granny.
“I’m glad you asked where I’m from,” she began. “I happen to hail from the greatest county in Ireland – yes I’m from the lovely green and red of Mayo which has been producing legends from the beginning of time: Cora Staunton, Ciaran McDonald and of course, Mr. Niall McGarry to name a few.”
Mayo’s Sarah Tierney, Cora Staunton and Noirin “Persistence” Moran at training
“I am currently working as Graphic Designer with a company by day and I am an Illustrator/ Sketch Artist by night,” she continued.
“I studied Visual Communications (Graphics) and photography in Limerick for four years, I had intended on becoming an Art teacher wanting to branch into Art therapy later on (an area which still intrigues me) but I was taken on another path.
“Now, I’m currently flat out with both customised wedding caricature invitations combined with GAA-style themes! I reckon Franc better watch out I may be onto something with GAA/sports-themed weddings!
“It’s kind of like winning Sam or Brendan for me! These are my trophies.”
Waterford LGFA Management and back team
“From an early age, sports was a big part of my life – I couldn’t escape it with a sports mad granny!
“I spent a lot of time in her company growing up watching sport instead of cartoons. Myself and my older brother would put her in goal and launch a few penalties at her. Many lamp shades, windows and trophies were broken with a ball or a racket in nan’s hallway growing up and she would always say ‘Don’t tell your mother!’ She is sound like that!
“In national school I played sport in abundance, you couldn’t keep me away! I even managed knock my spine out of alignment trying my skill at a bicycle kick (as you do)!
“During both my school years I played both football and soccer as well as playing with the Neale Ladies Gaelic Football team. I crossed the border into Galway for my secondary school years and played both Gaelic Football and soccer with Presentation College Headford.”
Her self-portrait.
“In fifth year my right knee began to give me an abundance of trouble, dislocating any chance it got. I was one of the few girls in my class in secondary school who loved PE and it was torture whenever I was injured having to watch from the side.
“My knee still does what it wants, dislocating, but myself and my right knee are learning to live with each other. I come from a family of dodgy knees, so at the moment I don’t play much of anything.
“Instead, I am very much a supporter and, as you know, sketching players to promote women in sport and put faces to the athletes. I knew it was better to trade the boots for the paintbrush.”
“My mum had a big role to play in my love of art and my development as an artist.
“I was guilty of a lot of scribbling on the walls of my parents’ house, drawing eyes on my granny’s glasses, and colouring in between the tiles of the wall while on the phone. My younger sister had a hard time of it as she usually got the blame for the delights on the wall and she couldn’t speak for herself to tell any different.
“I also used to tattoo her dolls and somewhere in the world a child received a Christmas box with a doll that had a tattoo drawn on its forehead. I drew on everything!
“My original sketches are probably well painted over, so unless my mother lets me scrape some paint off the wall at home to please the Her.ie readers, I probably can’t show you the original mastery!
“However, I can show you the sketch that started the introduction of my sports women caricatures on social media and why.”
Her sketches have got a lot of attention on social media.
“In 2012 I went to Australia to see where my design career could take me. On the contrary, I spent a year doing very little to do with art and design. I had never gone a day without designing something and suddenly, I had spent a year or so without it in my life.
“The intention to stay in Australia longer was there but while I was away I had news that changed my whole outlook on life and work. I lost my father tragically and unexpectedly while on the other side of the world.
“He had always been a big character, he had wit in abundance and a love of sport. I settled back in Ireland and immersed myself back into creativity. This helped me to keep my mind off things and stay focused.
“I remember sitting down one day and watching a ladies Gaelic Football game with my granny one evening and realized I didn’t know who half the players were. I went online to find out who they were and I found it was easier to find out what they had for breakfast rather than about their sporting achievements, stats and positions.”
Fiona McHale of Mayo
“It was really annoying, so I decided to combine both my loves. I created one of my first sportswomen caricature before a league game between Galway and Mayo earlier this year – randomly choosing Mayo’s Fiona McHale as my first “guinea pig” and I put it online.
“This was purely to promote the player to put a face to the name you might hear being mentioned. Let’s be honest if you identify with someone it’s usually with their face.
“It’s almost like a logo, it is the first thing you look at and I thought if you can get these faces out there then maybe in some small way you can promote the game and these athletes. I thought maybe it would spark something with young girls looking to put a face to the many female role models out there but who are just not promoted enough for young girls to know of.”
She’s helping to promote women in sport.
“While the ‘original’ sketch of Fiona McHale got the ball rolling and got quite a bit of attention (not just because I forgot to give her eyelashes as I was rushing to the match) , I would have to say the sketches I did in collaboration with the LGFA earlier this year for the launch of the Championship was probably a help in kicking it off.
“I got the chance to paint these athletes as the heroes they are, and deserved to be recognized as.
“It is also pretty cool to be able to say I sketched in Croke Park, most people yearn to play there but I was happy to whack out the brush and easel for the occasion. It’s something I will always have.”
Sketching in Croke Park.
“There are also a lot of individuals and players from counties that have promoted the sketches too along with providing some light banter online to get the sketches interaction.
“There was plenty banter with the Mayo ladies football team involving sketches so I sent them a little surprise to the training camp before the championship quarter-finals.
“All I will say is “persistence is key” (you know who you are). I also must say I love how much Cork people love Cork and get behind the players, they were great for interacting so much so people thought I was from Cork.”
The LGFA heroes.
“The idea behind the sketches are to put a face to the name of these athletes in a new way, a way that might grab the attention of a younger audience and encourage young girls to get more involved in sports clubs.
“I also collaborated with Sharon Hutchinson from Sportswomen.ie, as we took the sketches to a wider audience to help promote women in sport. We met half way in Limerick in July, discussed some possible ideas and aired our beef about the lack of coverage of women’s sport.
“The final result is the Sportswomen 2016 calendar which you can see here. After a lot of designing and only 12 months to play with it was difficult to pick and choose who and what to include and there is no doubt we have left out loads, we’ll just have to do another one next year!”
She created a 2016 calendar.
“There’s been a great reaction, I’ve sketched loads of teams now and some businesses in Cork commissioned a life size caricature sign wishing the girls in Cork well for the All-Ireland.
“I was also asked by the Women’s Sport Net in the UK to display some of my work at the #LikeAGirl Conference on November 24th which again brings some of the athletes to a wider audience.
“I definitely want to keep doing this full-time. I am in a job where I like waking up on a Monday!
“They say ‘Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.’ Spending time away in Australia definitely woke me up to this and taught me a hell of a lot about who I was, what I was capable of and what I wanted to achieve.”
Legendary boxer, Katie Taylor
“I’ve definitely really pushed myself more since I came back. I don’t know if that is from losing my dad while I was on the other side of the world or what but it’s definitely ignited my passion for the things I love and the ambitions I wanted to achieve..
“You realise when you lose something so great what is important and it definitely drives me, so I definitely got my game face back. And while I don’t get to be involved in sport the way I used to, I am trying to include it through my artistic skill to promote women in sport in an innovative way.”
Boxers Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan
“I do have ambitions to go solo at some stage and open my own design studio,” she reflected.
So, who is going to be her next subject?
*Crosses fingers hopefully*
“You’d love if I said it was you Mary wouldn’t you!” she laughed**. “That’s a good question! I usually don’t think much about these, it’s often a spur of the moment thing. Ideas come to me at the oddest of times.”
Her sketch of Sonia O’Sullivan
“I’d love to do a sketch of Ronda Rousey! Catch her attention. I’m still team Ronda. Even the best fall down sometimes, it’s the setbacks and falls that make you better. But who knows, I could decide to sketch anyone!” she continued, adding that she has five All-Ireland medals in art to her name.
“It’s great to think so many people out there have a little piece of my work hanging on their wall or resting on their mantel piece in their homes! If I can brighten someone’s day with a sketch, then I am happy.
“Looking forward, I would definitely like to crack the weddings design scene too but with a twist, shake things up a little as I said maybe combining it with some of the above details.”
Her sports mad granny.
“You asked me about my granny but where do I start!? She has all the great things a granny should have but with all the extra trimmings! She’s not your average granny. She took us quad biking when we were younger for god sake!
“As she says herself “I’d try anything once”. At least one cousin from every family has broken a lampshade, trophy, or window in her house playing soccer and you’d never get in trouble. As mentioned, she is the ultimate sports nut. She eats, breaths, sleeps it.
“Many times I have arrived at her house to collect her and I’d be told, ‘We can’t go anywhere, this game has gone to penalties’.
“At the start of the week she gets the TV guide so she can map out all the sporting events she can watch for the week. You will always have the radio going in one corner with one match and another match on the TV.”
Mayo mad!
“She would also have to arrive early to any sporting event so she could get a good seat in the middle of the action!
“Though she was born in Sligo (and she pretends to support them to knock a rise out of us) she is 100% Mayo having lived here for a lot of her life. Everyone knows not to ring or call her while there is a game on.
“She is in her element when there is a World Cup or the Olympics as she has a constant supply of sport!” she added, before heading back to work on more fantastic ideas.
To be fair Jen, in terms of inspiration, we don’t think the apple fell too far from the tree!
And as we wait for the next masterpiece, you can keep up to date with all of her latest sketches on Twitter here or on Facebook here.
**And as it turned out, we were her next sketch…
Our @MaryMcGuire7 is thrilled here after being captured perfectly by hugely talented @JenJen_Murf #LookingWellMary pic.twitter.com/KyrrFeXaB8
— Her.ie (@Herdotie) November 26, 2015
