McClanahan's abstract paintings promote a taut, rich vocabulary that focuses on the dynamics of color composition and its effect on perspective within a confined picture-plane. McClanahan combines complex color densities with linear optical effects that engage a heightened sense of awareness on the part of the viewer. Lines vibrate, disintegrate, shift colors and seemingly bend depending on the distance and angle taken from the paintings, resulting in a cascading depth within the volume of each canvas. McClanahan further enriches the dialogue within her work and the exhibition environment by creating non-traditional triptych groupings where canvases of different scale and orientation relate to one another in a communal manner.