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Sincere Painting In Art Shows TWO one-man exhibitions of pictures open today, Mr. F. W, Potts shows 65 oils and water colours at Finney's Gal- lery. and Mr. Richard Rodicr- Rivron has 23 oils and water colours on view at the More- ton Gallery. Great sincerity ant' faith- ful translation characterise all Mr. Potts's painting, and It appears to me that his recent work contains sound evidence of his desire and determination to renounce his more detailed practice in favour of a free and broader method of expression-and this is a very rood sign. The two water colours "Sand Dunes" and "Honeymoon Cot- tage" are among the later works. Both of these are charming pictures with breadth of treatment and comparative lack of "finish." Mr. Potts is successful, too, with such works as "Land- scape," "Corner of Packing 1 Shed," "Stormy Morning, Musa," "Scott's Point," and "Cotton Trees, Caloundra." The temptation to fill n fairly large gallery has. I believes caused the nsinter to exhibit too many pictures, however, asi one must become conscious of the padding. I know many of( us have been led astray in such' matters and the mistake con -1 tinues, but it is necessary for, all painters to realise that the, ultimate value of work will rest only on its quality. Varied 'Approach MR. RODIER-RIVRON has painted a number of his pictures abroad and achieves! more success with them than with his Australian landscapes. His approach varies very con- siderably and is also sincere, though from all this variety it Is extremely difficult to dis- cover very much of the painter's own personal ap- proach. Experience will per- mit him greater command and judgment. "Old Mill. Islington, Eng- land," and " Rainy Day, Martin Place," both possess atmosphere end beauty of colour. "Winter, Effingham Common," is an- other, success. With the sombre little "Wind- mill, Dee Why," the fresh "Jon- quils," "River View," "Deserted Farmhouse," "Portrait Sketch" and "Street Scene, Sydney," Mr. Rodier-Rivron achieves much happier results than with such pictures as " Stanwell Park Trees " and " Flowers."- 'JAMES WIENEKE. Portraits And Slum Pictures t...!MALL portraits. contrasting with larger canvasses of Sydney's back streets and a few landscapes make a very interesting one-man show at the Moreton Galleries. The artist is Arthur Evan Read and the exhibition opens today. Mr. Read's work has been exhibited in Brisbane before, and I think niftily picture -lovers, will remember his Darlinghurst street scenes. He paints with; feeling. There is both realism and, romanticism in paintings like "Waterloo Street. Sydney.", This particular canvas is a good one, being very interest, ing in pattern and colour with a rather lightly -knit solidity, and capturing much of the spirit of the back street. A picture possessing entirely different feeling, though again I from the slum area, is "Little Arthur Street... The street is seen under subdued light, with the colours glowing beyond the deeper tones of the mysterious foreground. It has good balance and line, and is very likeable. Another work in low tone and of considerable interest is "Riverside. Mascot." The water here is so dark however, that it makes recognition of a surface plane very difficult. The same may be said of "Driftwood Tree." Never -the - less this canvas has quality and fine simplicity of colour and composition. Other convincing and suc- cessful pictures are "Road By The Sea," with its subtle em- phasis of light, the broad "Bay," and "Huts At Noon." There arc a number or heads and figures included, admittedly they are very small, but they are full of delicacy and ooser- vation.-JAMES WIENEKE. Painter Portrags Back Street the Paintings by Sydney artist Nan Hortin, which. reveal particular interest in the pattern, colour, and life, to be found in the bock streets and lanes of a great city, are at the Moreton Galleries today. - - MLss Hortin is a sincere and observant painter, and whether the mood be light or grave, she catches much of the atmo- sphere from such places as Darlinghurst and Moore Park in these small, close-up, inti- mate canvases. She is happier with the oil mediums than with the crayon. Fascinating as decorative arrangement and pattern can be, response to great truth must underlie such in all good paint- ing, thus bringing to light that inner beauty and spiritual quality. "Backyard" has strong claims in this direction. It Is a fine little picture, lovely in colour, good in arrangement and makes a work of poetic feeling from a humble corner. By comparLson, a picture like "Morning is something ap- proaching a gay wave of the hand-pleasant and cheerful in colour, though somewhat lack- ing In the final analysis. Unusual interest and artistry are centred in the two principal figures in "Quiet Hour." The feeling here is very good, but the third figure Is not so suc- cessful. However, with both "Satur- day Shopping" and 'P By" (figures against typica background). one Ls conscious of haunting appeal with a tinge of sadness, and the painter avoids sentimentality in these interpretations. I found "Dreams" too gloomy and depressing, and the per- spective does suggest rather ex- traordinary planes. Possibly, with this title, such projection was intended. More interesting are "Blackout Blues" and "Children at Play." Miss Rodin is striving with great sincerity and feeling to say something of importance. A greater range of subject mat- ter would prove beneficial to her work now. Her future painting should produce most interesting canvases. -JAMES WIENEKE.