Feb. 22, 2005 – Friday Feb. 25 from 5:30 to 8:30pm marks the beginning of a month-long exhibition of the paintings of Dana Wylder and Brian Murphy at Mango Tango Art Gallery. Wylder has spent two years creating the watercolors and the oil on canvas paintings specifically for this show. She has worked with the gallery since it opened 15 years ago and has garnered a loyal clientele. Murphy, a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, paints of location. He has shown his work in the gallery for two years and has been recognized for his stellar "plein-air technique."
In oil on canvas , Wylder has painted nine large and several square-foot works. Known first to collectors as a superb watercolorist, Wylder has painted about a dozen watercolors for the show. The primary subject matter is the ocean. The main subject locations are Hull Bay, Magen's Bay, Cinnamon Bay and Benner Bay.
In oil on hardboard, Murphy has painted over twenty paintings which are 9 by 12 inches in size. In oil on canvas, he has created several works which range in size from 11 by 14 to 24 by 30 inches. His focus is landscape, seascape, and still life. Brewers Beach and the nearby university, Magen's Bay, Peterborg, the Ritz Carlton, and Hull Bay are some of his favorites locales.
Wylder reflects on her assembled body of works.: "In the last two years my influences have been moving waves supplanting each other. Oriental masters, the great impressionists, and electronic imaging vie for space on my palette. They find expression as the startling brush strokes in the foreground segue to enhanced photo unrealism in the distance."
Brian Murphy says that his paintings are his voice, and stroke-by-stroke, he composes a whole that relates his vision. "My style comes from the study of past masters, the influence of contemporary painters I admire, and a direction that has evolved from deep inside myself. What I love about painting out of doors is that the setting speaks to me through a particular light at each particular time of day. Then I create only as many brushstrokes as are needed for the viewer's eyes to understand and connect."
Gallery owner Jane Coombes observes that the magnificence of the show is enhanced by the fact that while the images are of the Caribbean, the quality of each painting transcends a regional label. "Who looks at images of the works of Renoir and Monet and thinks about the locale of France? The effect of light is redolent with the charm that made the great French masters' paintings so accessible and popular. Wylder and Murphy each use subtle effects of tone and contrast to add an extra dimension to reality. Their works have a winning immediacy."
Meet the artists at the champagne reception. 2 Blue Shoes rounds out the evening with interpretations of Tom Waits, Randy Newman, and Bob Dylan. For more information call the gallery 777-3060.
