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VISUAL ART Rogue Valley artist Linda Evans' pastel paintings capture landscapes of Southern Oregon Comment By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 20, 2015 at 2:00 AM By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 20, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Social News Like Claude Monet returning to haystacks for inspiration again and again, Rogue Valley artist Linda Elesiya Evans keeps coming back to Pompadour Bluff. "I've painted Pompadour Bluff east of Ashland about 10 times," she said. "It's an old geologic formation. Now rock is showing because grass and topsoil have worn away. It changes in every light with different times and seasons." That obsession shows in a March exhibit of her pastels at Art du Jour Gallery, located at 213 E. Main St., in downtown Medford. Along with the nearby Rogue Gallery & Art Center at 40 S. Bartlett St., the gallery will be open for extended evening hours from 5 to 8 p.m. during the Medford Third Friday Art Walk. A striking pastel of Pompadour Bluff — a rock outcropping that overlooks vineyards and dry hillsides — adorns Art du Jour's front gallery window. Like other pieces by Evans, the work will appeal to fans of realism and abstraction alike. At first glance, the painting perfectly captures the look of the bluff. Closer inspection reveals Evans' quick, sketchy strokes that are the mark of an experienced artist in perfect control of her medium. The bluff is an impressionistic mix of colors from purple to yellow, while gestural lines mark out bushes in the foreground. Fans of illustration, which often features outlining, will appreciate how Evans has used masterful lines to help define and enhance the craggy nature of the stone making up the bluff. Even the sky is multilayered and multicolored, rather than a flat sky blue. On the back wall of the gallery, a pastel titled "Peak of the Pompadour" shows the outcropping straight on, revealing how the formation arcs across the landscape, following the rise of the hill from which it protrudes. Misty purple mountains in the background create a sense of depth and distance. Her piece "Summit" captures a vertigo-inducing look up iconic Pilot Rock south of Ashland. The landmark towers over the viewer, its rock captures in layers of color like dusty rose and yellow, with hints of green capturing the vegetation clinging tenaciously to the stone. Again, Evans' illustration-style lines enhance the structure of the rock. The sky peaking above Pilot Rock is a rich mix of indigo and cobalt, plus white for the ephemeral clouds floating above the age-old stone. Her seascapes avoid clichés by capturing the unique, wild details of the coast. Squiggly white lines represent the foamy outlines of waves along the rocky shore in "Yachats Trail." The distant ocean is visible through a hole worn into sandstone in "I See the Sea, the Sea Sees Me." Grasses and brush are captured in a tangle of lines that reveal nature in its messy quest for growth despite the odds. While at Art du Jour, pastel fans should stop to admire the work of Mary Jo Heath, as well. Her series of paintings portrays local vineyards. Viewers can almost feel the dry heat of summer baking on "Paschal Vineyard," scorching the grass between the rows to sienna browns, mustard yellows and ivory. The dappled light of the grape leaves is shown from pale green to deep green to black. Hazy mountains in the distance almost shimmer in waves of heat. In "After the Harvest," Heath depicts the vineyard almost stripped bare, a smattering of orange and yellow leaves and vines clinging to stark, denuded poles that poke up from the frosty ground. A fiber arts show with work by Brooke Nuckles Gentekos, Amy Godard Navickas and Laura Lawrence in a side space at Art du Jour continues through March. At the Rogue Gallery, a new mix of work in the Members' Gallery room is up to celebrate spring. More than 40 artists from around the region are featured in the show. With something for everyone, the exhibit includes abstract works, collage, photography, realism and more in a range of media. Highlights include a large-scale abstract painting by Dixie Kinser, an intimate oil painting of a cottage-like building half hidden in the woods titled "Hanley Springhouse" by Sheri Dinardi, a photograph of a rusted antique metalwork door decaying under the onslaught of Venetian canal water in a photograph by Jim Lettis and an impressionistic pastel of Lower Table Rock with light glancing off the formation by Carla Griffin. The 2015 Rogue Valley Biennial with juried work by dozens of Southern Oregon artists continues through April 10 at the Rogue Gallery. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Call 541-772-8118 or see www.roguegallery.org . Art du Jour Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Call 541-770-3190 or see artdujourgallery.com . By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 20, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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