Review

" Winter

into Spring"

An Exhibition Of

Landscapes

By David Woesthaus

There is a tendency of art critics and scholars to compartmentalize styles or subject matter of an art work. I had originally thought of David Woesthaus

landscapes as Midwestern paintings along the lines of the Masters, Grant Wood of Iowa. John Steuart Curry of Kansas and Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri.

Perhaps that is because I recognize every single scene in the thirty-one canvasses exhibiting through March 29^th, at Broadway Center of Arts in

downtown Belleville. But then a friend remarked that "Blue Orchard "reminded her of the Vernon Valley in New Jersey. I realized that the scenes could be from anywhere, Vermont or Big Sur. For us locals, the titles are a giveaway. "57^th St." and "Scharfs Orchard "come to mind. The artist sees what the non-artist wont. Have we noticed the blue shadows beneath the oaks at the old St. Henrys Seminary property off Hwy 159? No, we were busy avoiding the road work. On the way to Millstadt, we were too busy getting the kids

to the soccer game to notice the Dutch Lavender

blanketing the fields in the spring. A Woesthaus landscape captures these subtle nuances and

amplifies them so that the viewer can see what the artist sees. There is not a manmade object to be found represented in this exhibit. David hasn't resorted to the clichéd rustic barn or old hay rake. There is Zen purity in these works. If these works evoke an emotion, it is a calm meditative outlook.

Muted earth tones adjacent to mellow but bright color fields remind us of J.M.W. Turners museum works. Are trees really blue? The artist sees what we wont.

My three year old nephew has no qualms against using his blue crayon for his trees. He sees a blue tree. Later, he will unlearn this and use correct colors and stay within the lines. Athough he has a Master of Arts degree, David still sees

the blue shadow that envelops the trees on the property of the old St. Henrys Seminary, if only for four minutes on a particular August dusk.

Wood. Curry, and Benton had intimate knowledge of their midwestern subjects.

The same can be said of Woesthaus. I would rather not think that these works may be chronicles of what we lost due to suburban sprawl

Nevertheless, there may be a day when a Woesthaus landscape could be used to document our disappearing rural scenes. Some of these locales on canvas already have "Coming Soon" development signs on them. My suggestion to the home development decorators (usually, Mrs. Developer) is to snap up a David Woesthaus landscape and hang it in the clubhouse as sort of a reverse "Dorian Gray." You can say,"This is what it was like before".

Gregory Travous

He has a growing number of collectors on this side of the river. Some of these latest works may be seen online at: http://davew.cjb.net/

The Broadway Center of Arts is located at 124 East Main , Belleville, IL. one block off the

Square. Hours: Mon. thru Sat. 10am - 3 pm Tues.& Wed. evenings 4 - 8 pm


				*WOESTHAUS* *Review*



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		" Winter into Spring" An Exhibition Of Landscapes By David Woesthaus There is a tendency of art critics and scholars to compartmentalize styles or subject matter of an art work. I had originally thought of David Woesthaus landscapes as Midwestern paintings along the lines of the Masters, Grant Wood of Iowa. John Steuart Curry of Kansas and Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri. Perhaps that is because I recognize every single scene in the thirty-one canvasses exhibiting through March 29^th, at Broadway Center of Arts in downtown Belleville. But then a friend remarked that "Blue Orchard "reminded her of the Vernon Valley in New Jersey. I realized that the scenes could be from anywhere, Vermont or Big Sur. For us locals, the titles are a giveaway. "57^th St." and "Scharfs Orchard "come to mind. The artist sees what the non-artist wont. Have we noticed the blue shadows beneath the oaks at the old St. Henrys Seminary property off Hwy 159? No, we were busy avoiding the road work. On the way to Millstadt, we were too busy getting the kids to the soccer game to notice the Dutch Lavender blanketing the fields in the spring. A Woesthaus landscape captures these subtle nuances and amplifies them so that the viewer can see what the artist sees. There is not a manmade object to be found represented in this exhibit. David hasn't resorted to the clichéd rustic barn or old hay rake. There is Zen purity in these works. If these works evoke an emotion, it is a calm meditative outlook. Muted earth tones adjacent to mellow but bright color fields remind us of J.M.W. Turners museum works. Are trees really blue? The artist sees what we wont. My three year old nephew has no qualms against using his blue crayon for his trees. He sees a blue tree. Later, he will unlearn this and use correct colors and stay within the lines. Athough he has a Master of Arts degree, David still sees the blue shadow that envelops the trees on the property of the old St. Henrys Seminary, if only for four minutes on a particular August dusk. Wood. Curry, and Benton had intimate knowledge of their midwestern subjects. The same can be said of Woesthaus. I would rather not think that these works may be chronicles of what we lost due to suburban sprawl Nevertheless, there may be a day when a Woesthaus landscape could be used to document our disappearing rural scenes. Some of these locales on canvas already have "Coming Soon" development signs on them. My suggestion to the home development decorators (usually, Mrs. Developer) is to snap up a David Woesthaus landscape and hang it in the clubhouse as sort of a reverse "Dorian Gray." You can say,"This is what it was like before". Gregory Travous He has a growing number of collectors on this side of the river. Some of these latest works may be seen online at: http://davew.cjb.net/ The Broadway Center of Arts is located at 124 East Main , Belleville, IL. one block off the Square. Hours: Mon. thru Sat. 10am - 3 pm Tues.& Wed. evenings 4 - 8 pm