|
 |
 |
|
"Michelle Murphy-Ferguson, An Artist Among Us" By JUDYE BELL Beacon Correspondent An article published in The Humboldt Beacon October 14, 2004 |
|
|
The warmth of the coach and the soft hum of the rail had lulled her to sleep. When the soothing motion finally stopped hours later, she awakened. “I’m home,” she thought as she looked out her window into the familiar gray-blue foggy mist. Through sleepy eyes she watched the layers of fog part and clear across the river as dark trees and a hillside rose out of the mist. Crowning the top of the hill, a castle stood with proud keeps and battlements. Then more castles came into focus on the distant hillsides. “This is not Humboldt County,” she thought, suddenly wide awake. Michelle Murphy-Ferguson realized she had reached her destination on the Rhine River. “Germany is a lot like Humboldt County; it’s beautiful,” Ferguson told me as we sat in the sun in the colorful back yard of her Hydesville home she shares with husband Loren. Paris, her spunky Australian-Queensland-cross puppy, bounced around us. “The terrain and the weather is so much like Humboldt,” she said, describing her favorite locations, which are the subjects in a number of her oil paintings. Ferguson spent two months in Europe in the summer of 2002, studying. The first month was spent with a group from College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State University studying European culture, language, and history in Montpellier, France. Weekends were her own and she spent them in museums and also with her easel, passionately oil painting the beautiful Southern France countryside. “I fell in love with Paris. I went to the Louvre, the Mussee’ d’ Orsay and the Moulin Rouge,” she said with a French accent she uses often for emphasis or humor. She describes Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Degas’ sculpture, The Little Fourteen-Year-Old-Dancer, and the Impressionists with love and appreciation of their work. But her first love is for the artists of oil, and her leading men are Vincent Van Gogh and John Singer Sargent. “I could go on and on because I just love them all,” she said. Ferguson was drawn to Van Gogh’s paintings as a child because, “He gave me a feeling inside that things don’t necessarily have to be perfect, and that there is a lot of texture and a lot of paint.” After a month in France, Ferguson went to Florence, Italy, to study at the prestigious Angel Academy of Art. The artist-owner, Angel, is known for his portraits and murals. “The portrait class was the study of an 18th century artist, Caravaggio.” Caravaggio’s influence using unique lighting effects are evident in Ferguson’s recent work. From there, it was on to the German Rhineland, traveling comfortably on the Eurorail. Arriving in Lamscheid, she met Ceva McWhorter-King and husband Jerry King, friends from Fortuna, and stayed with Harold and Hilde Rausch in beautiful Southern Germany. It was there that she was inspired to paint the countryside and the small village of Lamscheid, from a hillside vantage point. “They have little pathways between towns where no cars or vehicles are allowed.” Taking advantage of one of these hillside pathways leading out and above the village, she found a way to repay the people who had been so generous to her. “I did a painting as a thank you gift for staying at the family’s house,” she said. The painting caused quite a stir and word spread quickly. Since it was the only painting of the little town, the Rausches decided to give the painting to the town to hang in the town hall. Education Her education started early. Ferguson spent hours drawing and coloring after school. “We had only Channel Three and Channel Six,” she said. During the evening news hour, “The Challenge Man” was her favorite show. The host’s drawing demonstrations had a major impact in her career choice. “I don’t know what he said, but something clicked,” she said. “It was then that I knew I wanted to be an artist.” Ferguson also recalls a big turning was the day she helped her friend, Saudia McWhorter, with an illustration for a science project. Michelle’s task was to draw her friend’s hand, and McWhorter would draw the plant. “It looked like a real hand,” she said, laughing. “My mother said, ‘You didn’t draw that, you traced it’.” Once her mother was convinced by the young girls, Ferguson’s destiny was sealed. One of her biggest influences was her Fortuna High School art instructor, Les Larson. Ferguson majored in art and agriculture at College of the Redwoods. She met Loren Ferguson, also from Fortuna, at a Ruth Rodeo, and married him in 1973. They have two grown children, Morgan, 24 and Falon, 21. Son Morgan and Katie Benson are new parents of the first grandchild, Kaydence. Since college, Ferguson has studied with artists locally, in the Southwest and in Europe. Local artists she has studied under and admire include George Strickland and Stock Schluter. As an instructor, Ferguson brings to her students the benefits of a lifetime experience and her contagious passion for art. She believes each one is unique. “I think they can ask for help if they feel they are struggling. There is no wrong way of doing art,” she said. And her suggestion for beginners: “Keep painting and keep working with it.” “I think the more you paint the easier it gets. I just think it takes practice and practice,” she said. When she feels good about her painting, it’s finished. “It’s a hard thing to learn, but I think you have to kind of hang it on the wall and live with it and walk by it and look at it.” What is Ferguson’s style? “I call it representational, but there are people out there who call it impressionistic.” And for the budding representational artist, her suggestion is to study the California and the French Impressionists. Ferguson has been showing and selling her art for more than 30 years. Her first painting sold was a floral still life. It was purchased by a family member, so she still sees it now and then. “It’s rough, but I like it. When I painted it, I had so much enjoyment in it and now when I look at it I feel the same joy,” she said. She has received awards from the Redwood Art Association and the Humboldt Arts Council at the Morris Graves Museum. Her most recent award was at the 2004 Humboldt County Fair. Chosen for the Juried Art Show, which in itself is an honor, she also received Scotia’s Dr. Donel McCall’s Special Award for her painting of a barn in Larabee Valley on Highway 36. She has done commissioned work continuously for the last five years, which she finds very emotionally rewarding. “I am so grateful for all the experiences that I have had due to painting, and all the people I have met through it and where it has taken me,” she said. “I am just so thankful for any success I have had.” Ferguson offers classes for all levels on Wednesdays and Thursdays at her studio in the Buhne Building at 207 G St., above the Art Center, in Old Town Eureka. If interest is shown, she will start a class in Fortuna. For information, call 768-3421 or 496-0327, or you may e-mail Michelle. |
|
  |
  |
  |
| Gallery • Purchase • The Artist • Classes • Articles • Contact • Home |
|
 |
|
| © Michelle Murphy-Ferguson. Content from this site may not be reused without permission. Questions or comments? Contact the Webmaster. This site was designed and built by Precision Intermedia. |
|
