Friday, December 9, 2005

SEATTLE POST INTELIGENCER

Kent Lovelace paints rural realms of special grace. Serene, isolated fields where we long to linger. Sunsets to bank in our memories. Windblown trees that offer refuge.

As icons, his lush paintings on copper pay tribute to the countrysides of Ireland and Dordogne. They seethe with a moody sense of Ireland's moist countryside; redolent with drifting clouds, mauve sunsets, misty bogs and low-tide stranded rowboats. They harbor the intimacy of Dordogne's family-owned walnut groves and stone housing. They honor the ability to cultivate land over centuries, to respect the earth and live in harmony with nature.

When Lovelace began painting on copper plates he didn't know he had reinvented the wheel -- that he was following in the footsteps of Van Eyck, Rembrandt and contemporary Spanish artists. Striving for an emotional sense of place, he struggled with copper undertones on linen. Shortcutting this arduous surface preparation, he experimented on copper itself. It turned out to be the ticket.

Painting with translucent oils, Lovelace fashions nature's luminous light, delicate seasonal hues and rolling agrarian terrain. Exposed slivers of copper edge leaves that seem to rustle in the sun. Nothing extraneous distracts from the atmospheric equanimity. Narrow perspectives lure us to contemplate a solitary tree, the staked-up branches of trees laden with walnuts and the quiet of twilight.

Lovelace's armchair travelogue promises no excitement. It doesn't promote a raucous city or activity-packed cruise. It merely reflects the elegance and solitude of the natural world, gently transporting us to havens of peace. And that is quite enough.

"Kent Lovelace: Landscape Journal" through Dec. 30 at Lisa Harris Gallery, 1922 Pike Place, 206-443-3315, www.lisaharrisgallery.com. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.