Last updated: 28 October 2026
Colin Murphy is the Belfast artist who paints small, glowing oils of everyday rooms and objects, and he is also the comedian best known from The Blame Game. Here you will find our take on his work, where to see Colin Murphy paintings now, how to buy one, and his piece in this year’s War Child auction.
Our take on Colin Murphy
Murphy paints the corners of life most people walk past: a sink, a light fitting, a stairwell, a mirror reflecting a bed. He works small, in oil, with soft light and translucent layers. His aim, in the words of the statement on his website, is to get viewers “to really see the things we often overlook”.
His War Child piece, Morning Sun, is a perfect example. It looks down a narrow staircase with a green runner and cream-painted treads. Sunlight falls across the steps from the left, so each tread is half lit and half in shadow. A wooden handrail runs down the right, and an orange wooden floor fills the bottom of the panel.
Many readers will know him first as a stand-up and a regular panellist on BBC Northern Ireland’s The Blame Game. However, the painting is serious, with repeated selection for the Royal Hibernian Academy and Royal Ulster Academy annuals. He is also candid about the knock-backs. “I’ve been rejected for a lot of things,” he told The Irish Times in 2023. “It’s just the risk you take.”
Colin Murphy: the essentials
- Based in Belfast. He is also a comedian, actor and long-running panellist on BBC Northern Ireland’s The Blame Game, according to his agents, the Lisa Richards Agency.
- Studied foundation at Bristol Polytechnic (1986 to 1987) and design at Belfast School of Art, University of Ulster (BA Hons, 1990). He completed the Painting Resolution course at the RHA School, Dublin, in 2025.
- Won the outstanding artist prize at the 141st Royal Ulster Academy annual show in 2021.
- Selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London in 2020 and 2023, and for every RHA annual in Dublin since 2019, according to his own CV.
- Shortlisted for the first Hogarth Prize in 2026 and longlisted for the Jackson’s Art Prize the same year.
- Featured in the 2023 BBC Northern Ireland documentary The Secret Artists. His work is in the Irish State Collection (Office of Public Works).
Where to see Colin Murphy now
- Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The piece is Morning Sun (2026), oil on wood, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page.
- The Hogarth Prize (shortlist exhibition), Hogarth’s House, Chiswick, London, 28 July to 6 September 2026.
- 196th RHA Annual Exhibition (group), Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 25 May to 9 August 2026.
- Realist (solo), Cnoc Buí Arts Centre, Union Hall, County Cork, 21 August to 7 September 2025, listed by Irish Arts Review.
How to buy a Colin Murphy painting
Colin Murphy does not sell prints. His small oils sell through exhibitions and direct from the artist:
- Morning Sun, 2026: a small oil on wood in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here). Bidding had reached £170 when I checked on 28 October.
- Paintings: his website shows recent work and notes which pieces are already in private collections; contact him there for prices.
Colin Murphy FAQs
Is Colin Murphy the artist the same person as Colin Murphy the comedian?
Yes. The Belfast comedian and Blame Game panellist is also a painter, as his agents and the 2023 BBC documentary The Secret Artists both confirm.
What does Colin Murphy paint?
Small realist oils of everyday interiors and objects, such as stairwells, sinks, mirrors, curtains and charity shop ceramics.
Has Colin Murphy shown at the Royal Academy?
Yes. His work was in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2020 and 2023.
Where can I see his work in London?
His War Child piece, Morning Sun, is on view at Iconic Images Gallery from 6 to 8 November 2026.
More from CoolCuration
- British Art Fair review: modern British art at the Saatchi Gallery.
- Best affordable art in the UK: prints and originals under £500.
- Hospital Rooms poster sale: charity prints by big-name artists at £100.
- Louis Fratino at David Zwirner review: figurative painting full of everyday domestic detail.
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Main image: Colin Murphy. Courtesy the Lisa Richards Agency. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 28 October 2026.
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