Brian Murphy

Brian Murphy is my favorite of all the artists I explored. Of course, favorite is a hard word to use because I fell in love with many of the artists' artwork. I really had a hard time choosing just three to discuss, and with Brian Murphy, I had a really hard time only choosing just 3 pieces to display.

First of all, I am in love with the subject matter. I love landscapes. I love seeing how artists can choose and portray a moment of beauty that can be found on our earth. Brian Murphy also has cityscapes, and a few pieces with people or other objects in them, and they are great too. When it comes down to it, Brian Murphy creates majestic beauty on his canvas. That's why I love his work. Each of his pieces is something simple (a snowy field, mountains, a sunset), but he uses that simplicity to make magic happen on his canvas.

The magic happens from his use of brushstrokes, color, and use of space. His brushstrokes and use of color are two other reasons I love this artist's work. Both those qualities are used to create a strong effect that allows me to feel what he felt as he painted. In the first painting I have pictured, the brushstrokes are much smoother than the other two. Through the brushstrokes and neutralized, mostly cool colors he creates a quiet stillness that allows the viewer to feel the fall of the first snow. In the mountain scene, the brushstrokes and color create a tranquil scene. The simple brushstrokes and neutralized colors give me this sense of peace as the horse grazes in the pasture by the side of the mountain. In the sunset piece, his brushstrokes are much looser, and the colors more swirling. He uses a combination of warm and cool colors to help the viewer feel the heat of the sun disappearing into the dusk setting in. As I viewed this piece, I could feel the waves crashing into the beach. I could feel the ocean breeze cooling as the sun went down, and I could see the beautiful sunset. With every piece of work I viewed of his, I could feel myself enter into the piece and feel the moment he portrayed.

In each of his pieces, Brian Murphy uses his space in a way that keeps the viewer's eyes. He makes good use of positive and negative space, balance, and the golden mean. Had he used his space any differently, the image would not be as thrilling to view. Without the use of balance and the golden mean, the positive and negative space wouldn't work, and the eye would not be naturally drawn in. He works it perfectly, however.

Mia Pearlman

I have never really experienced art like Mia Pearlman's. It's so different from the usual style of art I am attracted to. One trait I absolutely love is how her pieces have a sense of movement. The first piece shown is one of her portrayals of breath. As I look at it, I can feel someone breathing. I can see wisps of breath on a cold morning. I can see labored breathing after a run on a hot day. I can see the human lungs pulling the breath in and out. In the second piece, a cloudscape, you can see and feel the clouds swirling around you. You feel caught up in the whirlwind of something like a tornado. Her last piece I have pictured is called The Eye of a Galaxy. In that piece as well, you can see the movement of the galaxy. You can see worlds existing and coming together. It's exhilarating.

She has also given us a unique way to see science through art. I love how her subject matters are various studies of science: molecules in breath and galaxies and cloud formations as well. I love how she has the ability to make her subject matter majestic (which I think is from the sense of movement she has created). Each painting puts me in awe, and each painting gives me the feeling that I am studying something wonderful. She has filled her space and used the color in such a way that makes the pieces complete and makes me, as the viewer, feel satisfied.After viewing her artwork, I feel a closer tie to science and an appreciation for the beauty found in all aspects of the world.

I love Mia Pearlman's use of color. The three pieces I have chosen all represent color differently, but the thing I love is how the color in each piece specifically creates a sense of wholeness to the piece. The colors (or lack of) she has chosen add to the feeling and awesomeness of each piece. Her use of color is intentional, and the colors she has chosen to use are beautiful.

Alex Lukas

When I first saw Alex Lukas's artwork, I immediately decided he was one of the artists I would choose to discuss. His work is so interesting. The three pieces I chose are my favorites, and I feel they represent his style well.

Lukas's work has so much depth. First of all, I love his subject matter. All of the work on his website, http://www.alexlukas.com/, shows the world in a state of ruin. At first glance, the pieces are interesting, and upon further exploration, his work is just amazing. He provides so much detail that will keep the eye entranced for quite some time. My favorite piece is the third, where most of the city is under water. It is so intricate, and it looks real, like it could be a photograph. In this piece, I am entranced by the underwater cityscape and also the reflection of the buildings that remain above water.

I also love his choice in color and materials. Alex Lukas chooses colors that portray a deep feeling of foreboding and gloom, enhancing the vision of the world in ruin. Much of his colors are neutral or neutralized. Mixing  colors to get the perfect image is quite a task, and I am impressed with his color palette. I honestly can't stop looking at his work. All of the work I could find was mixed media, and I really like the materials he has chosen to use. The more colorful ones are ink, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, and silkscreen. The water scene is ink, acrylic, and silkscreen on book pages. Some of these materials I have worked with, but I am also new to a few of them. I find it interesting how he has tied them together to create this perfect image. I'm sure he couldn't use just any materials because the effect wouldn't be the same, and I am impressed with how effective his pieces are. They make me think so much.

The Purpose

The purpose of this blog is first to fulfill a school assignment :) Yay! It is a visual journal where I will be exploring art. I'm not really sure where it will go during the semester...
My other purpose will probably not even come into play until after the semester is over. But it is possible that I will write my own blurbs about art that are not required for class. I might just want to. And I might include some of my art from this semester on here. We will see.

My first assignment is to browse through a list of artists. I will then pick three whose work I love and analyze parts of their work (the reasons their work specifically is compelling to me).