Michael Brophy

"Pacific Wonderland" series of 36 gouache paintings on paper  2012

from "Cascadia Exit" a series of 40 gouache paintings on paper

from "Cascadia Exit"

from "Pacific Wonderland"

from "Pacific Wonderland"

from "Cascadia Exit"

Last year Michael Brophy spent some time on the roads of Oregon crisscrossing the state and producing a slew of small gouache studies. Many of these are currently on display this month in Portland, Oregon. Those familiar with his work might be more familiar with his large oil canvases (often 10 feet across). But his vision scales down nicely. In them delicate lines of paint scrawl out the shapes of trees or reflections on water with a calligraphers confident ease. The scenes are rarely the epic ones that artists, photographers and tourists might be expected to gravitate to. Rather they are the ordinary scenes one often passes by without much thought. For Michael Brophy every angle, every new scene, even the seemingly emptiest (yes, especially the emptiest) is not only worth looking at, but worth recording and rendering, allowing the rest of us to see his home state through his eyes. I first posted his work in September, 2010 and he still doesn't have a website. Though there are plans in the works for one it could be a while. So for now the only place to find his work online is at Laura Russo Gallery which also where you can see the work in person if you're lucky enough to live in Portland.