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Show t age 24 Arts Festival Florida animal artist joins Westerners at fest The arts festival attracts people from the far corners of the country. But maybe the craftsman who had to travel the furthest was Floridian Greg Murray. How far West has he been? Park City's the limit right now, he said. But he has been out West before, taking photographs that form the basis of his "scratch-drawing" "scratch-drawing" studies of wildlife. "I spent about three weeks out here the winter before last," he said. The animals he draws run the spectrum. His slides to the Park City jury, for instance included an elk, mule deer, wren and a ram's skull. He eventually may travel to other continents, like Africa, for his portraits, por-traits, but right now his goal is to cover North America thoroughly. Three animals in particular have escaped his camera: the polar bear, moose and the grizzly bear. "With the grizzly, especially, I'll have to be careful to make sure I don't end up in his jaws ! " said Murray. "I'm not the hottest photographer in the world," he admitted. But he usually has a certain pose in mind for the animal, so his job is to find the habitat, observe the animal, and wait for him to assume the right pose. In other cases, he will take a series of photographs of the animal and use "something that springs out to me." Murray's technique of "scratch-boarding" is a little unusual. He creates his picture pic-ture not by adding to his "canvas," but by taking away from it! He works with a paper-based board that has a hard clay surface. "It's very brittle, like china," he said. "I have to import it . : ' I Presents j r m The Summe Sunday Buffet Brunch!! Seating 10 a.m. through 2 p.m. Every Sunday $7.95 Adults $4.95 Children under 12 at Prospector Square in Park City 649-8060 ELI tXXX from Great Britain." It is overlaid with a layer of black India ink. And by scratching away at the ink surface, he creates his picture. "I originated the idea a few years back of adding watercolor to the picture. " His pictures have a surprising look of realism, he said. "From about 10 feet away, people may think they're looking at a photograph." Murray is small-town native of Illinois and holds an Associate in Arts degree, He decided to move to Tampa, Florida six years ago to expand his market. He found the state was a hodgepodge of people from other states, and sometimes you couldn't tell what kind of art they would buy. "For a 1980 show in Naples last December, I had put together some prints and originals of tropical birds," he said. "The one original I sold was a picture of a fox in the snow. Surprised the daylights out of me. " His work has done well in Florida, he said. The art show season in Florida is in the spring and fall ("I use the summer to catch up on work"), but this year he decided to climb in his motor home and head West. By the time The Newspaper found him, he wasn't in Florida, but right next door in Estes Park, Colorado ! In recent weeks, he's appeared in shows in Denver and Carney, Nebraska. Murray said he's bringing four limited-edition prints and about 10 originals to the Park City Festival, so be sure to see Greg and his scratch-drawn animals. Considering the trip he made, it's not such a long walk for you up Main Street. 1 wmm WiWt Andy Monaco Andy Monaco has been playing and dancing danc-ing through the streets of Park City for the past seven Arts Festivals. He takes the most pleasure in mingling with the crowd, telling jokes, singing a song, but he'll be on a stage this year so that he doesn't mind, really, he'll still be having a good time. ; ' ' ' . , f Andy will be joined this year by Dale Newey, and the two will be playing, in Andy's An-dy's words "original, peppy, vital, urban kind of folk rock let's just call it fun. We are fun guys. We are fun-loving, serious and professional at the same time." Andy and Dale have been together about a year and have been playing night spots in Salt Lake City. Their first show together was as the opening act for the Bonnie Raitt concert in Salt Lake last fall. "There aren't more than a handful of people who make their living in the Salt Lake Valley exclusively with music that must be some kind of weird Red Badge of courage," Andy said with a laugh. "But that's what we do and we love it. And Park City is one of our favorite places we love doing the Arts Festival. "I'm an incredible street performer," he said, with a touch of modesty. "I'm right up there with dogs and cats! Seriously, I love to be on the street where I can touch people and they can touch back. But this year I'll be on a stage where it's less casual. But it still is immense fun. For me, being on the street is like going to Saturn. Now it's not like going to Saturn...it's more like going to the moon ! " But you don't have to go to the moon to see Andy Monaco and Dale Newey. Just stop by the patio at the Kimball Art Center at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday and 3:15 p.m. on Sunday. |