The beauty of the Missouri countryside and its small towns are represented in colorful, lush impressionistic paintings by artist Billy O'Donnell in a current art exhibit at the St. Louis Mercantile Library on campus.
"An Artist Paints Missouri: Landscapes by Billyo O'Donnell" features paintings from the artist's project to paint all 114 counties in the state, plus the independent City of St. Louis, which is its own separate county. There are 115 paintings in the exhibit as well as some additional materials such as the artist's sketchbook, paints and brushes.
The beautiful paintings put the state of Missouri in its best light, and this exhibit offers students a relaxing break from classes nearly as good as a drive in the countryside.
The emphasis of the collected works are on the natural beauty of the state, but pastoral scenes of peacefully scenic small towns and rural activities such as harvesting crops, farmers' markets and fly fishing are also represented in postcard perfect fashion.
As the title indicates, the paintings are landscapes, mostly of rural scenes with a few that use historic buildings and small town streetscapes as subjects. There are a few paintings with people in the scenes, usually at a distance.
All together, the variety of scenes in the paintings presents a sort of snapshot of Missouri, particularly of rural life.
Besides the paintings of peaceful fields under dramatically cloudy skies, like Marion County's "Lover's Leap," and stately mansions and buildings such as the brightly lit "Greenfield Opera House" in Dade County, there are Missouri attractions and scenic locations as well.
Johnston Shut-Ins, Elephant Rocks, and the ruins at Ha Ha Tonka are represented, along with many favorite parks. One particularly striking painting is "Bollinger Mill" in Cape Girardeau County, a lovely red water mill, with the top half in sunlight and the water and ground below in shadow.
Along with being remarkably consistent in tone and style, the paintings are visually appealing, soothing and almost dream-like.
O'Donnell uses an impressionistic style, choosing pastels for late afternoon light, or using muted tones and dramatic lighting contrasts for near twilight, with parts of buildings or even only clouds still illuminated by a setting sun.
The full range of seasons is presented, but the emotional style of each painting is consistently that of the romantics of the nineteenth century. One striking painting deviated from the trend, a scene of a barn in moonlight with a starry sky.
The paintings' style evokes the works of painter George Caleb Bingham, in the colors, subjects and dramatic lighting of nineteenth century realism.
Even where the subjects are the more populous counties, O'Donnell maintained this theme by selecting images that also looked pastoral, such as a view of St. Louis from a rooftop overlooking an expanse of green tree tops, with downtown and the Arch lit by fading sunlight in the distance.
A painting of the State Capital in Jefferson City places the sunlit building in the distance, as seen from the other side of the Missouri River, with the dark river in the foreground.
The University of Missouri Press published "Painting Missouri," a companion book to the art exhibit. The book contains photographs of the paintings in the exhibit along with commentary from Karen Glines on the artist's project and his painting methods.
The exhibit is located in the St. Louis Mercantile Library, which is in the lower levels of the campus' main Thomas Jefferson library. This free exhibit of artwork, one of two currently at the Mercantile, will be on display until October 6, 2008.
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