The exhibit “Flora & Fauna,” featuring paintings by Amy Denny and Kevin Veara, opens in LLCC’s James S. Murray Gallery today. The public is invited to view the exhibit weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through April 11 and attend a reception on Thursday, March 21 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

A statement by the artists about this exhibit says, “Flora and fauna are a beautiful distraction from our crisis-prone times. The ephemeral makes you stop and notice, or the moment is gone … Beauty of these moments should be treasured, absorbed with the eyes, inhaled deeply.”

Denny was born in Springfield and earned an associate degree from LLCC and a bachelor’s degree from Sangamon State University. She has worked in graphic design in both Illinois and California. Her present medium of oil is the result of a lifelong love and study of the fine arts. Three years ago, she began making artist canvases and frames for her artwork and others. Her painting skill has been recognized most recently in the 2018 Illinois State Fair Exhibition and the 2017 Lincoln Memorial Garden Exhibit at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.

Veara is a bird guide for Lincoln Memorial Gardens and has been leading hikes for nearly 20 years. He also enjoys traveling around the country for bird watching vacations. Veara is currently restoring seven acres of land on the banks of the South Fork of the Sangamon River by planting appropriate native plants and removing others in order to create a haven for birds and animals. Living out in the country has allowed him to immerse himself in his subject’s habitat — seeing the arrival of birds in the spring and migration in the fall.