Lennie Bennett, Times Art Critic
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 4:30 a.m.
If you still crave a nature fix but are more interested in standing under an air-conditioning vent than the blazing sun, consider a visit to two area galleries where landscape paintings bring the outside indoors. Landscapes became a popular genre in the prephotography days when people wanted reminders of places visited or armchair travelers wanted to dream of places only imagined.
Thomas Murray delves into a mythological exploration of a garden in a series titled “Archetyptonics” at Studio@620, 620 First Ave. S, St. Petersburg. Loaded with references to goddesses — and be aware that the show contains nudity — Murray’s paintings also depict a lush paradise such as this one. The show continues through May 22. Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Free. [email protected].
Taylor Ikin and Laura Waller offer more literal versions of the great outdoors in an exhibition at Nuance Galleries, 804 S Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa. Ikin paints on a plastic paper called YUPO that gives her watercolors a high gloss. Recently, she has been roaming Hillsborough County for unspoiled pockets of natural beauty as her subject. Waller, who also works in watercolors, often record her travels. She has applied her impressionist style to the Maine landscape in this new series. The show continues through May 31. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Free.