One illustrator's swashbucklers and humble folk

Frank E. Schoonover (1877-1972), in the show "An Artist for All Seasons" at the Delaware Art Museum, deserves to be seen through a modern lens. Only then might we at last begin to think of him not only as a high-adventure illustrator but even more as one who portrayed earthy, bread-and-butter human conditions that yoked and burdened the spirit no less than the body. In these images, Schoonover memorably depicted the pathetic, vulnerable young women and children in Pennsylvania's mills and mining towns, and the rugged settlers he met in the Canadian North.

This direct, forthright, dedicated-to-folk artist actually may have been at his most featureless and stereotyped when producing - in enormous quantities - the compulsory action-adventure subjects, with their pirates and battle scenes, for which he is best known.

Compare for yourself the adventure subjects with his quieter images in this retrospective celebrating publication of the catalog of his complete works.

Luis Bujalance seeks unity in his work as an abstract painter, and he wants that unity to shine forth in a fresh way. Some of this Spanish painter's pursuit of unity is obvious (too obvious?) in his current show, "Approaches to Oneness," at Bucks Gallery of Fine Art.

For example, he either sticks close to one tonality, as in his dark

Paisajes III

canvas, or he scatters the motif, producing a painting resembling a firecracker explosion (

Paisajes II

and

Nature and Small Boxes

). Otherwise he may emphasize memorably a single dominant shape, as in

Land Without Flags

.

But the unity he's after is difficult to pin down. When he does finally capture it in the show's two best canvases, the stunning

Connections I

and

Tree

, the results are very impressive. Both combine scrappy linear "drawing" and fat color shapes in a fresh and unfamiliar format that's actually a startling mix of paint, wax and photography.

So, Bujalance has invented a peculiar motif - "peculiar" only if you think of the painters he admires (Joseph Beuys and Anselm Kiefer) and how they use shapes or tonality to create unity. In his best efforts here, Bujalance puts together effectively a brittle tree-branch armature laced with tendrils of bright color to create dense and vital nature-related works.

Bujalance makes constant reference to contemporary advanced styles. If he's an innovator, it's despite his derivations, or even due to some finely developed exploration of derived techniques. Fascinating show.

A 50-piece twin bill by Larry Francis and Jesse Whitacre at Gross McCleaf launches the gallery's 40th-anniversary year.

Francis' strong following - it's his 10th solo Gross McCleaf show - rests on his straightforward neighborhood scenes. These embody life in all its earthy and vital elements in the streets and backyards of Manayunk/Roxborough, East Falls and Southwest Philadelphia. Such oils are often enhanced by an atmosphere of hyper-real clarity and luminosity. What's new here is that Francis' captivating moments occur not only in his well-known large oils, shown with some handsome still lifes, but also in his small radiant gouaches, never before exhibited. Francis lays down his gouache paint with greater ease than most artists, yet he's precise.

Whitacre's paper collages offer strong colors, emphatic contours and flattened space as he tries to build a solid foundation so the artist's life can serve as the source of expression for him. His subjects range from panoramic Center City views to South Philadelphia side streets, the FDR golf course, and a barbershop visit. Really superb is his imaginary casino interior - a brilliant field of red punctuated by small vignettes of gamblers, each well characterized, cards in hand.

Summing up, it's a promising debut and a veteran in fine form.