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.