Mr. Perkin’s Barn, Fort Bidwell 30x48 oil on canvas
Michael Drury
Far and Near
Recent paintings of California, Nevada, and Ireland
“The profoundest order is revealed in what is most casual.”
-Fairfield Porter.
Opening April 7th 5pm - 8pm
Santa Barbara Fine Art
1321 State Street (Next to Arlington Theater)
Santa Barbara, CA
Michael Drury has been painting for over 50 years. Many of those years were spent painting side by side with longtime friend Ray Strong. Drury has an excellent eye for observing detail. His colors are accurate, his compositions are playful and poignant, creating what could prove to be his most impressive exhibit yet.
"These paintings were chosen to show where my enthusiasms lie and how far-flung and intimate they are. The west coasts of California and Ireland, and the western Great Basin of Nevada all share a spiritual commonality, a freedom and a sense of place and space." - Michael Drury
IRELAND
The paintings are all painted in west Connemara, County Galway. The Mass Rock is in the middle of Roundstone Bog. Killary Harbor is the only true fjord in Ireland. Mweelrea Mountain is across Killary in County Mayo. Omey Strand is the access to Omey Island at low tide. Omey Island is just offshore of Claddaghduff, near my cottage in Cleggan. The Twelve Bens are the mountains east of, and parallel to, the coast of Connemara.
.
CALIFORNIA
The paintings of California and Nevada in this exhibition were made on trips in the fall, winter and spring over the last several years. They continue to evidence a deeper interest in volcanic formations and the definitive nature of lava flows, and the collision of land and water along our western coastline. For me, the correlation of the remnants of ancient, vast inland seas that make up the Great Basin, and the abrupt meeting of land and ocean is clear. The occasional manmade forms only serve to emphasize the surrounding grandeur. I find that comforting.
.
NEVADA
