(707) 786-7051

Open seven days a week

10:00 am-5:00pm

In the Victorian Village of Ferndale, California at 535 Main Street

Member/Artist

Applications

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK

Samarai Bear, Watercolor, 2017

The Dog Artist, Watercolor

The Four Caballeros, Serigraph

Great Blue Heron, Serigraph

Venerable Elk, Watercolor, 2014

Dog In Kimono, Serigraph

Venerable Dog, Serigraph

Peggy Jane Murray, Watercolor and Serigraphy

I work in both watercolor and print techniques to create whimsical, kimono-clad animals. When I am not painting, I employ a technique known as serigraphy to create my work. It is a handprint process in which I push ink through a stencil onto paper. The stencil is mounted on a fabric mesh, which is mounted on a wooden frame. Each successive color in a print requires its own stencil and is printed separately. The process demands weeks or even months to complete an image.

As to the imagery, I began painting my dog while I was a student at Humboldt State University in the 1970s. The dog had actually saved me from an intruder and I painted several pieces in homage to my dog, Bazooka. I continued to use the dog as a model while I worked on a master's degree in printmaking at CSU Chico, but there, I began to use the dog to characterize myself, my life and experiences; an attribute known as anthropomorphism. Over the years, I have used several dogs and cats to represent my loved ones, my friends and myself. Recently, I have begun to incorporate outdoor wildlife such as great blue herons, eagles, and Roosevelt Elk.

My prints and paintings are shown extensively and are included in numerous collections; among them the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the University of California, Davis and the UNICEF Restoration Project, Krakow, Poland. I am a member of the California Society of Printmakers.

I consider myself fortunate to live on the North Coast with my husband, Mike, our four cats, and my dog model, Gracie.