Charles Willyard's paintings of roads at night now showing at Caffé Vita in Olympia look a lot like calendar art or postcard art, or maybe like story illustrations out of a 1950s Saturday Evening Post. Willyard's painting technique and his sense of design, color and - most notably - his dramatic light-and-dark contrast are all admirable. He is a skilled painter. But the style and subject matter of these paintings is outdated, melodramatic and sentimental. It is easy to be impressed with these paintings, but just as easy to be put off.

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[Caffé Vita, paintings by Charles Willyard, through March 30, 124 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.754.8187]