Current Conditions
43°F - CLEAR
(540) (393) (12) (9) (4)
"White Christmas" opens Friday and runs through Dec. 31 at the gallery on North Prince Street in downtown Lancaster. The artist is watercolorist Steven J. White, whose surname gives the name of the show a double meaning.
The paintings in "White Christmas" show the mystical beauty of fields and forests in the cold of winter.
The realism of White's paintings is quite striking, with an almost photographic quality. It's enough to make you grab a down jacket, mittens and warm boots, with visions of hot chocolate dancing in your head.
White says he's inspired by his explorations of farms and woodlands in eastern and central Pennsylvania. He has wandered the Schuylkill River Heritage areas and the Adirondack Mountains of New York, in search of inspiration for his work.
In some ways, his work makes one think of the visual accompaniment to the Robert Frost poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," with the words "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep."
Images of deep woods with blankets of snow and stark leafless trees are contrasted with a red barn surrounded by golden brush and a white horse peeking around the corner. A long farm lane wanders past a stone farmhouse to a barn, accented by the last greenery before winter arrives. The stream near Skippack looks chilly beneath a wintry blue-gray sky and tall trees.
"As an artist, I am always drawing, always looking," says White, who describes himself as a restless adventurer and self-taught watercolorist.
He lives in Birdsboro, Berks County, with his wife, Mae. And, recalling another Frost poem, his path as an artist was one less traveled. Born in Chincoteague, Va., White grew up in northern New Jersey. He graduated from Lyndhurst High School in 1970, then entered the military and served four years in the Air Force.
He always had been intrigued by art, but several years after his discharge, White took his own artistic adventure when he toured the United States and created a pictorial diary of his trip in pen and ink, pastels and charcoal.
"I drew the small towns, fields, lakes, forests and streams I visited," says White, adding that his collection of artwork grew to nearly 500 works done in 18 months.
A fire at a Utah gallery destroyed much of his work, derailing the artist for a time. White's desire — or perhaps need — to paint was rekindled in the mid-1980s after he saw work by internationally known artists such as Zoltan Szabo, Murray Wentworth and Andrew Wyeth.
In 1985, White began experimenting in watercolor in earnest, and he was fueled by the interest that came from galleries and art collectors.
"What I like about Steven's work is that his palette is soft and serene, creating a warm and inviting ambiance," says Patricia Renna, who owns Living Light Gallery with her husband Andre.
As Renna points out, "A client recently wrote about Steven's recent work, titled 'Hearth,' saying that 'It makes me want to snuggle by the fire in the cabin with a good book.' "
It is that kind of purity and simplicity that guides White toward subjects that need no explanation and have no complex messages.
"I paint what I see and I think people can relate to that," says White, who takes the time to wander down back roads and woodland paths to capture a wintry wonderland.
"White Christmas"
Paintings by Steven J. White
Opening reception, Fri. from 5-8
Cont. through Dec. 31
Thurs.-Sat. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free
Living Light Gallery
150 N. Prince St., 399-9011
www.livinglightgallery.com
