''Keith J. Varadi: Maurice''

Keith J. Varadi’s oil paintings have something you can’t quite put your finger on. They seem unexpectedly muted and soft. Even the boldest colors have a quiet quality to them. That’s because these oil paintings are copies of oil paintings, the originals discarded in favor of this second life. It’s a process that the Brooklyn artist developed. A collection of his work, ”Keith J. Varadi: Maurice,” is on exhibit at David Shelton Gallery. Varadi starts off by making a painting on a stretched canvas. He then stretches a raw canvas over that painting while the paint is still wet and pushes the paint through the raw canvas without using a paintbrush. Sometimes he leaves the end result alone; other times he may add paint to the stain, again without using a brush. Fifteen paintings, most 12×9 inches in size, make up the collection.

11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays. 3909 Main. For information, call 832-538-0924 or visit davidsheltongallery.com. Free.

Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Starts: May 15. Continues through June 15, 2013