The 26th annual Nansemond-Suffolk Academy Art Show and Sale opened to hundreds of visitors on Saturday.

Featuring more than 150 area artists, the show is open daily through Feb. 5. Commissions on artwork sold support the academy’s fine arts program.

“I come to it every year,” local artist Edward Vann said while admiring the artwork on Saturday. “This is the first time I’ve been in it.”

Vann said his favorite part of the show is seeing techniques other artists use and thinking about using the same techniques in his own work.

“It’s like an education, really,” he said.

This year’s honorary chairman is Angela Bounds, who works mostly in oils and usually paints landscapes, flowers and still life.

“This is a great art show,” she said earlier this month at a luncheon leading up to the show. “This is where I sold a painting for the first time.”

As the chairman, Bounds has 30 pieces of art displayed. The other artists have up to five pieces each.

Heather Brown brought her daughter, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy second-grader Eva Parker, 7, to the show to expose her to more art.

“Eva loves art,” Brown said. “It exposes her to lots of things, and it’s a nice family thing to do.”

Brown said Eva had talked about the art all week long. The show is displayed in the hallways of the lower school.

“She said, ‘You’ve got to see the strawberry painting, Mommy,’” Brown said.

The artwork ranges in price from $25 to $7,000, and the artists take home 65 percent of the funds raised. On average, according to NSA officials, the show raises $40,000 to $50,000 for the school.

The show will be open both on the weekends and during the school week. Today and on Feb. 5, it is open from 1 to 4 p.m. From Jan. 30 to Feb. 3, it is open 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

On Feb. 1, there will be a grandparents’ reception from 9 a.m. to noon, and Feb. 4 and 5 will be kids’ days, during which Bounds will show the kids how to make collages.

For more information, call the school at 539-8789.