.......Then and Now of Arthur McCall......
Gabriel
Diego Delgado
Arthur
McCall, native Texan painter of country time “nostalgia” is known for his
standard easel size painting; depicting the serene Texas hill country of yonder
years. However, recently an older painting of McCall’s has resurfaced on the
art market that is unique in its physicality measuring 66” x 32”.
This tall and slender vertical ranch scene with
an enormous skyline titled “South Texas” has a certain “walk-in” quality.
Centered perfectly in the middle of the picture sits a ragged and dilapidated
barn, complete with broken and missing board and batten siding. Nestled on the
right side of the structure, snug like a sleeping baby sits an antique
automobile underneath a carport-- lost in time with tires growing roots into
the parched Texas ranchland. Rusted tin
roofs are proof of a once sustainable agriculture and accommodating climate. No longer worked from sun up to sun down, this
estate has been left to be reclaimed by the unforgiving arid surroundings.
"South Texas"
Crisscrossed
paths add visual routes for our eyes to follow from the foreground to the back
of the barn, through the shanty fence line. A hollow and darkened door-less
entry awaits any curious weekend explorer looking for unclaimed keepsakes of Texas
legacies. Patches of dried out, once
luscious, greenery has been met with encroaching deserts from South Texas,
forming triangular patterns of Mother Nature zeroscaping. Skeletal remains of a covered wagon are preserved like some archeological
specimen of some western antiquity. This
naked wooden utilitarian cart maintains its own special rigor –mortis fragility
in rusted and rustic landscape permanence.
Various
shades of yellow, pink, mauve, blue, violet, orange, cream, green, and white
swoop and swoon you into the painting with McCall’s elegant setting summertime
sun. The “V” shaped billows converge on the windmill, an anchoring point to
ground you back to the horizon line. Owning half of the overall viewing
experience, the atmospheric qualities add a meditative essence piggybacking on heartfelt
tugs of nostalgic past memories.
"Mason County"
On the other
hand, McCall’s newest painting “Mason County”, 2013 is a moderate 18” x 24”. A small masterpiece depicting its own
systematic scale comparison between massive boulders and the undersized flock
of foraging fowls. Scattered cactus
speckle the brush, while a male “gobbler” turkey displays his ornamental array
of feathered beauty; calling on his hens to pay notice. Dwarfed by the looming
boulders and uncompromising Texas terrain, this temperamental “Tom” stands back
to adore his flock. Granite rocks
dominate the composition like nature’s pillars, solid and immoveable--a
defensive barrier to the ever expanding and encroaching urban sprawl. Mesquite trees peek from behind, lined up at
attention like soldiers protecting McCall’s nostalgic country time innocence.
©Gabriel Diego Delgado 2013
I consider South Texas to be quite delightful, for me an interesting view of Texas, not unlike some Australian country with the Windmill; Mason County not so good, a bit flat with textureless rocks, while the birds forming a cradle add to the interest of the painting
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