By John Chambless
Staff Writer

The 19 small paintings on display in the front room of the Bookplace shop in Oxford this month all depict rural Colerain Township, but there's a nice universality to the locations. These summer and autumn fields, loosely but expressively painted by John Weaver, could be just about anywhere, making them broadly appealing.

Weaver works as a vet, but spends his free time wandering the roads and fields near his home in Colerain Township, painting quickly on site and moving on. The small format of these untitled panels makes them very portable for these painting treks. Taken as a whole, the show is like a series of first impressions that add up to a deep understanding of place.

The brushwork expresses the sweep of a hillside, the outline of a clump of trees, and the way plowed fields lead your eye to the horizon. There's one winter scene and a couple of autumn-toned views, but mostly these are tiny windows showing lush summer greens, brown furrows and light-blue skies.

Weaver doesn't capture the details of a scene, but its essence – light, texture and warmth. He rarely exhibits, so these paintings will be a pleasant surprise to everyone who visits. And, priced at $75 each, they are affordable enough to be a nice grouping of three or four together.

Done with deep affection for the rural landscape, these paintings have a warm glow and invite you to linger a while. They're on display through August.

Bookplace (2373 Baltimore Pike, Oxford) is open Friday from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Call 717-715-4775 or visit www.bookplaceoxford.com.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email [email protected].