WESTFIELD — Katherine Galbraith, a local and nationally recognized artist will present “Painting the Faces of Chautauqua,” a collection of over 40 portraits, on Friday, Nov. 11, at the Westfield Train Station.

On Nov. 11, there will be an artist’s talk given by Galbraith from 2 – 4 p.m.

Galbraith has spent the entire summer capturing the essence of Chautauqua County through more than 40 portraits of people from all walks of life: lawyers, vintners, farmers, fire fighters, students, teachers, grandparents.

“Another artist, whose work I greatly admire, decided about 10 years ago to paint the people in her rural town and I thought, I could do that,” Galbraith said. “I also live in a small, rural community and it’s full of wonderful, interesting people. And so I ordered lots of panels, primed and sanded them, and began asking around to see if anyone would like to sit for me. My goal was to paint 30 portraits. The response was overwhelming. Now, 42 portraits later, I’m still painting, and have been adding landscapes of Chautauqua County to the mix. It’s been an amazing experience for me, getting to know these wonderful people and painting them. Each person is so different, and each so interesting. I wanted to paint people from all walks of life, people who normally would never have their portraits painted. They have all seemed to really enjoy the experience; I know I did.”

Each portrait is oil on wood panel, and each one was painted live, in a three-hour sitting. All the paintings will be hung in one room so that viewers can see them as a grouping. In the same room there will also be landscapes of Chautauqua County that Galbraith has painted.

Galbraith’s work has been featured in publications including Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, American Art Collector, and International Artist Magazine. Katherine teaches art and often writes articles for the Portrait Society of America.