By Alec Clayton
Published in the Weekly Volcano, Dec. 27, 2018
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| “Falling Through the Cascades,” oil painting by Patricia Clayton, courtesy American Art Company |
Now on view at American Art
Company is The Journey, an exhibition of Plein Air Washington Artists.
I can’t honestly review this exhibition without stating my personal bias
— and yes, critics always have personal biases, no matter how they might try to
be objective. The paintings in this show are of a type I usually disdain. They
are slick, commercial, calendar art: warmed-over
Impressionism, a kind of art that has been done to death over the past century.
Having stated my bias, I will now talk about some of the better pieces
in the show. But first, one more general statement: This show does something I
have never seen. It shows plein air paintings next to identical or almost
identical paintings of the same subject that were painted back in the artists’
studios, as opposed to out in nature, which by definition is what plein air
painting is. The only difference in most cases is the size and the price.
Patricia Clayton’s “Falling Through the Cascades” holds down a prime
spot, making it the first thing most visitors
see when entering the gallery. It is a large painting at 30-by-40 inches. It
depicts a rushing waterfall with luscious, heavy paint strokes applied with
some kind of knife or scraper — heavy globs of paint that look as wet and shiny
as the rocks and rushing water depicted. It is a highly dramatic picture. There
are three other paintings by this artist, one a smaller but similar painting of
a waterfall and two paintings of golden sunsets over the ocean, one with misty
skies and one with golden water. Like “Falling Through the Cascades,” these are
bold and dramatic paintings that are executed with great skill, even though the
scenes are clichéd it might be noted that heavy paint application is typical of
many paintings in this show. There is also a preponderance of mist, water, and
sunset themes. Brilliant orange, gold, pink and violet are everywhere to be seen.
Kathryn Townsend’s “Miner’s Cabin” and “End of the Road” have the same
kind of heavy impasto, brilliant colors and dramatic scenery as Clayton’s
paintings, but with richer color combinations. The brown tones in the
foreground look like rich chocolate, and the tiny blue roof on the outhouse
dead center in the combination is a real attention grabber.
Karen Bakke’s two paintings of a lighthouse remind me of Edward Hopper’s
paintings of lighthouses, but a comparison with Hopper would be unfair to
Bakke, because Hopper’s honesty and inerrant sensitivity to spacing and
composition is beyond the reach of mortals.
Perhaps my favorite painting in the show is an unpretentious little
watercolor by Felicity Chastney called “Silence in Echo Bay. It is quiet, soothing and not so showy as many of the other
paintings in this show.
The Journey, Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5
p.m., through Jan. 26, closing reception 3-5 p.m., Jan. 26, American Art
Company, 1126 Broadway Plaza, Tacoma, 253.272.4327,
http://www.americanartco.com/.
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