Leslie Seward Van Campen does not claim to be an artist. Instead, “architect” is more likely to be his self-professed career, having graduated in 1936 from the School of Architecture with a masters in Architecture. While attending RPI, he learned the technical aspects of the career that would lead him through life. At the same time, he also developed an interest in painting with watercolors.
While his career led him from one country to another, he was always painting. The exhibit currently hanging in the Shelnutt Gallery is a collection of works he did throughout his life. Each series of paintings seem to tell about another piece of his life story. The colors he applied to his work seem to capture more than just the landscape, but a bit of the ambiance of each locale.
The first series of paintings is labeled “The 40’s,” painted when Van Campen was in Panama. At first the paintings look deceivingly simple, but upon closer inspection there’s a surprising attention to detail, such as reflections painted in the water. Most of the paintings in this series are marked by bold use of color and strokes, a style which carried through to the rest of Van Campen’s works.
One of the most striking paints is “Panama Harbor” (1948). The painting can be simply described as a landscape of a harbor, however that doesn’t do the painting justice. It is filled with a veritable rainbow of colors. Each object seems to have its own scheme of colors and brush strokes, fully capturing the nature of each element. Each boat and building is well-placed, giving the work a sound sense of balance.
Moving along the wall, “The 40’s” give way to “The 50’s.” Many of the works in this series lacked some of the subtle detail of the previous series. The lines were much more simplified, but the style lends itself well to capturing the functional feel of the industrial setting of the scenes.
The next series jumped ahead a few decades and returned to the more leisurely landscapes of “The 40’s.” In contrast to the earlier works, though, the paintings of “The 80’s and 90’s” had a much more obvious attention to detail.
In the work entitled “Alyina, Greece” (1985), Van Campen used green skies to more clearly capture the feel of a town on the ocean. Gentle washes provided a solid color for each element, but a combination of wet and dry brush techniques were used to add in the final detail to the painting.
Along the other wall, the exhibit continued with “The 80’s.” These paintings, coming from the same time frame as the previous series, were marked by the same kind of complexity found in his works from the previous series.
“Port of Suvala, Aegia” was a prime example of how well Van Campen uses contrasting colors and various techniques to fully capture a scene. The right side of the painting was particularly well-done. On the left side, some of the continuity of brush strokes seemed to detract from fully capturing the large body of water.
The final series, also named “The 80’s and 90’s” was amazingly detail-oriented, especially when considering the watercolor medium. A prime example of this was “State Capital, Albany” (1991), which was perhaps the most complex work of the entire exhibit.
In contrast to this work, “Harness Saratoga” (1984) was remarkably simple, with more of an abstract feel. The use of color was much bolder in this painting than in his other works, with the horses in the forefront being given a darker color in contrast to the lighter colors of the background.
In addition to his watercolors, some graphite on paper sketches are also mounted on the walls of the Shelnutt. These sketches are a stark contrast to the watercolor medium, but also help to show the depth of Van Campen as an artist.
While his career may not have been that of a traditional artist, Van Campen’s works definitely merit the same kind of attention as any other artist. His paintings will be shown in the Shelnutt Gallery until late August.
