Three-person art show on view in Norman

Viewers can choose between the contemporary and classic, between bodies of water in Oklahoma and in China, complemented by superb nature studies, in a show at Mainsite Contemporary Art. The exhibit by Norman artists Carol Beesley, Alan Atkinson and Debby Kaspari will have a reception from 6 to 10 p.m. June 10.

A shift from Southwest landscapes to central Oklahoma bodies of water, sometimes made even more dramatic, is found in the oil paintings of Beesley, who returned to Norman from Santa Fe in September 2009.

Clouds reflect in nearly turquoise-hued water, broken only by two thin strips of land, and the distant green shoreline, in Beesley's oil of “Indian Point, Lake Thunderbird near Norman.” Punctuating the masterful handling of water in this large canvas is a long horizontal log, lying across and casting its shadow on pinkish-brown rocks in the foreground.

Equally quiet and almost meditational are two oils of Lake Hefner. Scattered rocks in the foreground lead the eye back to a broad expanse of red beach and a bit of blue water in one of them, done just before sunset, while a “bright moment” turns the lake's waters purple in the other.

Transforming an apparently mundane scene in an even more spectacular fashion is Beesley's oil of a “Detention Pond Near St. Elijah Orthodox Church” in Oklahoma City. Pink-red rocks create a magical cove for pale, jewel-like pink and aqua-tinted waters, basking under a distant strip of foliage, in this composition, which has a sublime impact in spite of its lowly subject.

A miniature female figure pulls back a theatrical curtain, “revealing” contemporary snapshots and a Renaissance portrait, illusionistically taped to the sky, in a pastel-colored pencil drawing. The Revealing” is one of three excellent mixed media works on paper, described by Beesley as an “art history lesson,” on view with five oil drawings on paper, based on the backyard of her house in Santa Fe.

Beesley is a professor emeritus at the University of Oklahoma who is represented by the JRB Art at The Elms gallery in Oklahoma City.

An artist who calls his work an homage to the ancient Chinese painting tradition, Atkinson provides us with a quietly memorable, almost scroll-like depiction of a “Warbler on a Pine Tree” branch.

Even more impressive are four acrylic canvases from Atkinson's “Don't Drink the Water” series. Depicting Chinese lake or river scenes, the stylized waves in these paintings emerge from rich, stained, brown-hued backgrounds, in almost dreamlike fashion.

Kaspari offers 11 exquisite mixed media drawings on paper of flora, fauna, birds, rocks and landscape elements, plus one large acrylic and graphite painting on birch panel. The latter is especially noteworthy, depicting a tropical looking tree or plant, with two exotic, yellow and black birds perched on its branches (one of whom seems to be saying something to the other).