Lyrical Moments: Martha M. Deming & Mary P. Murphy
October 25, 2025, through Jan. 4, 2026
Lyrical Moments is the collaboration of two artists, Martha M. Deming and Mary P. Murphy, who capture the emotion of elusive moments of light through color, composition, design and imagination. Friends of many years, they first met as teacher (Martha) and student (Mary) but have continued their relationship through a shared love of painting. They both choose their subjects for their physical and emotional qualities – which they try to imbue in their paintings. In Lyrical Moments, Martha’s focus is flowers; Mary’s is water.
The exhibition opening will be 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. Light refreshments will be available. The event is free and open to the public.
Martha and Mary will give a talk about their work at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. The talk is free with admission.
About the artists
Martha M. Deming grew up in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. Her art career began when she was old enough to pick up a crayon and continues to this day with years to come. She is a graduate of Skidmore College and Syracuse University. Her public school teaching career spanned 32 years and included Middle and High School levels. Since retiring she has continued to teach classes and workshops for watercolor and occasionally pastel.
She lives on 140 acres of fields and forest in Remsen, NY. As a “pet person” she has had many beloved dogs and cats over the years along with 6 horses. Currently she has two dogs and 4 cats in her family “pack”.
Her main medium is watercolor, but she worked in oils for many years and pastels have become a favorite alternate medium as an occasional break from watercolor. The contrast between the transparency of watercolor and the opacity of pastels is an important element for her work. She feels that each medium has many lessons and inspirations for working in the other, to the benefit of both.
She is a Signature member of CNYWS, TWSA, and PSA. Her favorite subjects are flowers, landscapes, cows, horses and pets. She feels that strong design should be the foundation of every painting with everything else based on that.
The major influencer in her approach is renowned watercolor artist John Salminen. She feels that a student should never settle for copying what an instructor does, but instead use it as a springboard for further development of one’s own work.
She often enters regional and national juried shows and is delighted when a piece is accepted. Most recently she is contending with hand tremors which have made life complicated but interesting. She is currently working on developing a new style of painting to accommodate her now unsteady brush.
Mary P. Murphy has a studio in Barneveld, New York, in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. She works primarily in watercolor, oil, and pen and ink, and she tries to capture the feeling of moments in time meaningful to her— hopefully communicating those feelings to others.
Mary is a signature member of the Central New York Watercolor Society (CNYWS) and has been recognized in nationally juried shows sponsored by the Art Students League in New York City (“At the Table”), Cooperstown Art Association), Marblehead MA Art Association and View Art Center in Old Forge NY. In 2023, she was selected by the Walmart Corporation to paint a mural for the Plattsburgh, NY supercenter. In Fall of 2024, she was Artist in Residence at the Horned Dorset Colony in Leonardsville, NY.
In 2025, she was accepted to nationally juried show Variations in Marblehead, MA; the Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, NY, and she has had two solo exhibits at View arts center in Old Forge, NY. Mary, and pianist colleague Tina Toglia, have performed five “Musical Canvases”: Tina plays piano, while Mary paints live or shares videos she has created. One attendee said, “Now, more than ever before, every time I look at a painting, I’ll hear music, and whenever I hear music, I’ll be seeing paint strokes and colors in my mind.”
She has received three grants from the New York State Council on the Arts to exhibit, perform live art and teach. Following the pandemic, her illustrations were accepted into the Art Students League comic book competition, This Quarantine Life Comics Anthology for her COVID pen and ink.
Solo exhibitions include the Arkell Museum in Canajoharie, NY and the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts in Blue Mountain Lake, NY and View Art Center in Old Forge, NY.