Superb exhibit of landscape paintings on view
People and action are missing from the oils of Rick McClure, but a stillness and sensitivity to light and color easily makes up for their absence.
A superb exhibit of landscape paintings by the Oklahoma City artist is on view through Oct. 25 at Howell Gallery, 6432 N Western Ave. A pinkish evening sky casts its “Pastoral Glow” on a green pasture, in front of tall trees, and a range of hills, in one fine oil canvas.
A similar glow suffuses his deftly executed study of trees on the “Crest of the Hill,” making the orange sky behind them seem almost infinite.
A subtle “Moonlight Mood” is created by the partly cloud covered lunar orb shining over a field, trees and a small body of water in a third oil.
In another oil, blue shadows on a wide snow field and on a dark forested and snow-covered Rocky Mountain range create a wintry “Visual Impact.”
Reflections on still waters between snow-covered banks draw us into a smaller oil on linen composition, called “Wolf Creek Winter.”
Equally tranquil is the mood produced by his oil of still “Mountain Lake Reflections” and his depiction of lush green and yellow foliage at “Water’s Edge.”
Old, abandoned buildings make good subjects for oils of a red-roofed “Cimarron Carriage House” and of a mountain church, where “Forgotten Sundays” were spent.
Rich, man-made rather than natural color attracts us to “SoRelle’s Red Canoe,” left by the bank in front of a sunlit mountain meadow. Clearly occupied, instead of unoccupied, is “Francesca’s Little Shop” in the mountains with a car parked in front of it, in a charming smaller oil.
Quietly majestic is his large oil of “Estes Park Glory,” while a nice change of pace is provided by an oil of “Fog Rolling In” on three anchored boats in a Connecticut harbor.
McClure’s exhibit of “New Works” is highly recommended.