in 2007 michael murphy began creating portraits of barack obama. one of his earliest portraits of barack obama was created by the shadow cast by 6,400 nails hammered into a canvas. the shadows produced by each nail when lit properly form the likeness of obama. the obama art report, which covered all of the work produced during the 2008 presidential election wrote that, "in an artistic movement so heavily inundated with design work, prints and street art, murphy’s nail portrait came as a breath of fresh air."