About Copy Cat Gallery

I'm Linus Murphy, a retired architect stepping away from a 47-year career into what first shaped my creativity and career path: painting.

As a child, I copied paintings which fascinated me—Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Manet—any French Impressionist piece. And while I didn’t grasp what I was painting, there was something about the originals that clicked with me. It wasn’t just the paintings, but the act of painting which transported my mind to places I could only imagine and places I hoped one day to see.

Through the support and encouragement of two mentor artists: Bill Zurro; and Charlie Dawe, I learned that painting could be fun and serious at the same time. It made sense in a way I didn’t understand, and luckily, that feeling stayed with me even as my career grew busier and busier.

Decades ago, I created The Copy Cat Gallery as a nod to how I learned to paint: by copying what excited me. The gallery remained dormant while I built a firm with my business partners, but now in retirement it has returned in a way I could never have expected.

It is now a catalyst for me to build a second career, from architect to artist.

I am becoming the artist I always wanted to be.

I still paint the French Impressionists because they continue to teach me, but I also create my own original pieces, shaped by what I’ve learned over the years. I see The Copy Cat Gallery as the place where my early creative instincts meet the discipline and clarity gained over a lifetime.

What I’m doing now isn’t a hobby nor is it a nostalgic return to my past. It’s a second career, less reinvention and more continuation. And with this realignment back to The Copy Cat Gallery, anyone can purchase my copies of French Impressionists, acquire my original works, or commission a new piece.

If you’d like to connect with me beyond this website, my YouTube channel, Copy Cat Gallery, is where I share the evolving story behind my late-life second-career reset, and how Copy Cat Gallery has become the driving force behind it.

On the channel, I speak openly about returning to a new career of painting after a decades long career of architecture. I speak about making mistakes, and about not always knowing what comes next. I explore what a second career truly looks like, sharing the good, the bad, and the everyday realities.

My “retirement” is purpose-driven and active: my job is showing up, learning, painting, and growing.