ORONO – “In Plain Sight: Drawings and Paintings” by John Whalley will be on exhibit through March 21 at Lord Hall Galleries, University of Maine.

An artist talk will be given 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, at the gallery. The opening reception is 5:30-7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, also at the gallery. The Lord Hall Gallery is open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

An American realist, John Whalley is best known for his skillfully detailed and precise graphite drawings and still-life paintings. Whalley’s inspiration and subject matter are derived from his appreciation for the hidden beauty he sees in the worn, weathered and often discarded objects he finds near his home in Damariscotta.

Born in Brooklyn, Whalley graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and traveled extensively. In art and in life, he always sought to “discover the beautiful in unlikely places.”

Whalley spent many years helping to establish an orphange in Sao Paolo, Brazil, where he and others, including his two sons, helped nurture and teach art to street children, whom Whalley refers to as “discarded kids.” The artist’s work now incorporates “forgotten tools,” finding the hidden beauty in mundane, discarded objects.

For the past 30 years, Whalley’s drawings and paintings have been exhibited widely in the U.S., and his work was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition, “John Whalley: American Realist,” at the Georgia Museum of Art.

Recently, he published “John Whalley: In New Light,” a book on his own work.

All events are free and open to the public.

For more information, call the art department at 581-3245.