Murad Saÿen was born in Philadelphia in 1945 and has been an artist since childhood. He has a world-wide reputation as a maker of so-called ‘art knives’—of which you may see a gallery of examples here—and is also a lifelong painter, a published and long-time photographer and a writer. He earned a BA in philosophy of ethics from Penn State University and attended the MFA program in photography at the University of New Mexico. His interests are in the landscape, including the social landscape, and his fine art photographic work is available through Domaine Gallery, in Portland Maine.

In 2000, he published his first novel, under the pen-name, Derek Stockton. “Above and Beyond” is a story about healing post-traumatic stress syndrome, through the love and wisdom of an exceptional woman. It is also a mystery that spans European and American culture, World War II and Vietnam, and is available through this site exclusively.

“Maine, the Home Place” is a book of color photographs, published in 2003, by University Press of New England. It spans three decades of life in rural Maine and is available from online vendors. It was well-received and highly praised as being a definitive record of the ‘other Maine’, i.e., inland Maine. 96 color images.

He lives in South Paris, Maine, with his son, Samuel, and his wife, Abigail…and two precocious golden retrievers.

Murad Saÿen, in Oxford, Maine.