Enjoy scenic Ventura County through the paintings and drawings of Ventura College students and Professor Dorothy Orr at the Blanchard Community Library in Santa Paula from November 1 through December 30. This exhibit will include Plein Air and Partial Plein Air works by students enrolled in Watercolor Painting, Ink Techniques and Landscape Painting classes.

Before there were cameras, artists worked on location. En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and specifically is used to describe the act of painting outdoors. Many notable artists including Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh and local Douglas Shively loved working in this manner. The plein air artist seeks to capture the atmosphere and essence of a location in an ever-changing natural light environment. Plein Air art works are started and finished on location. Partial Plein Air images are started and taken to a point of near completion on location, and then finished in the studio with focus on compositional adjustments and detail refinements.

Over thirty students, residents of Ventura County, will have art works featured on the Douglas Shively Memorial Wall for the duration of the show. Five included exhibitors were honored with awards at the Annual Ventura College Student Art Exhibition, 2011. The community is invited to meet the artists at a reception scheduled Thursday, November 10, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Additional works will be available for viewing and sale at the reception only.

The Blanchard Community Library is located at 119 N. Eighth Street. Regular hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 8:00 pm, Wednesday from 10 am to 6 pm, and Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The Library is closed Friday, Sunday and holidays.