River Rorschach

Remember in grade school when you folded a piece of paper in half, painted tempera on half and then closed the paper to create a mirror image on the other side, like a Rorschach-blotter piece of art? Check out Tom Sellas’ more sophisticated oil versions until November 5 at Phoenix Framing and Gallery, 1729 L Street. Twin Rivers Through the Eyes of Tom Sellas features his river series. Some, like “River #21,” are rich, sultry, painterly reflections of the American River banks mirrored in the water. Sellas actually paints half the canvas and flips it over to fill it with the repeat image. But others, in bright, almost garish colors with empty, negative-space backgrounds, as in “River #41,” leave images that look like tribal totems. Sellas also works in clay, and his simple, hand-formed “Picasso Vases” reflect that famous painter’s fractionated portraiture. For more information, call (916) 447-1632.