Get an early jump on Christmas shopping at SCCA event

If you’d like to get an early jump on your Christmas shopping and don’t want to leave town — to shop or to find the people you’re supporting — look no further than the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts.

The center will hold a grand opening this weekend for a massive gallery exhibit featuring oil paintings by Dorothy Fagan and a large assortment of hand-made gift items by local artists. Everything is for sale.

“It’s always amazing to work with local artists,” said Jackie Cherry, interim executive director of the SCCA. “They bring such exceptional work to our galleries.”

The opening reception of the exhibit — dubbed “Artfully Done: Gifts for All Seasons” — will be held Nov. 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. The exhibit will remain through Dec. 30 for those really last-minute shoppers.

In one gallery at the SCCA, art aficionados, or those shopping for them, can find about two dozen oil paintings by Fagan, a Morristown, N.J., native who has been painting since childhood and now lives in the area.

Fagan received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from East Carolina University in 1974. Locally, her art is in the collections of the city of Franklin, Southampton Memorial Hospital, The Village at Woods Edge, Bronco Federal Credit Union, Towne Bank and others. She was the honorary chairman for Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s annual art show and sale in 2009. She taught at Paul D. Camp Community College from 1978 to 1981.

Fagan enjoys painting “en plein air,” or outside, and her paintings reflect that. Most of the works in the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts gallery show will be landsca pes.

In addition to Fagan’s paintings, the other gallery will feature a wide array of gift items by local artists, including oil paintings by Kacey Carneal, hand-made birdhouses by Ed Harper, flat art by Charles Sibley, paintings by Linda Phillips and wooden pieces by Mark Rehmar. Other selections will include jewelry, furniture, photography, fiber art and more.

The third annual exhibit will be open through Dec. 30. The galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The center is located at 110 W. Finney Ave. For more information, call 923-0003.