NARROWSBURG, NY — “Paintings, Now & Before: Figures, Flowers, Landscapes,” an exhibit of paintings by Narrowsburg’s Jill Mackie, opens with a reception on Friday, October 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Delaware Arts Center’s Alliance Gallery, 37 Main St. The exhibit will be on view through October 28.

At a time when Mackie was a non-representational painter, she was chosen by the Whitney Museum of American Art to participate in the independent study program in New York City. During her time there, she immersed herself in the art world of museums, galleries, seminars and lectures; she realized what mattered most to her was representational art.

“I use oil paint, a traditional medium, to represent the subject realistically in a traditional manner,” says Mackie. “I paint layer on layer and the painting grows and changes as I go along enhancing or subduing a color, making a sky lighter or darker, removing a tree or a wrinkle and so on.”

One of Mackie’s self-portraits was purchased by the curator of the Smithsonian Institution’s Castle and shown in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. Later, because of another painting, Mackie was invited to a cocktail party at former President Clinton’s office in Harlem, where she met the president.

Alliance Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information visit delawa revalleyartsalliance.org or call 845/252-7576.