WESTBROOK — Next weekend, artists will convene across the city as part of Westbrook Arts and Culture’s annual Paint Westbrook event.

Local artist Mary Brooking, an organizer of the Sept. 8 event, said artists will set up between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to paint or sketch sites across the city. The downtown area, she said, is a draw for many artists who use the Presumpscot River, the Dana Warp Mill and other downtown buildings as inspiration.

“We hope people bring their own interpretation to the scenes we see everyday and make us seem them in a new way,” Brooking said of the plein air painting event.

The event typically attracts 15 to 20 artists, both amateur and professional, she said. The deadline to sign up for this year’s event, which is sponsored by Westbrook Arts and Culture, Discover Downtown Westbrook and Continuum for Creativity, is Saturday, Sept. 1.

Following the Paint Westbrook event, the art, available for purchase, will be hung at Continuum for Creativity, an art gallery and performance space Brooking operates at 863 Main St. The exhibit, which kicks off with a wine and cheese reception at 5 that evening, will be on display until Saturday, Oct. 13. The center is open most 11:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays or by appointment.

After the Paint Westbrook exhibition, Continuum for Creativity will host an exhibition of the work of Ohio printmaker and potter Marvin Smith. 

“I was so blown away (by his work), I wanted to bring it to Maine,” said Brooking, who is good friends with Marvin’s daughter. “It is art that related to anyplace. It is not Ohio art. It is not Maine art.”

Currently on display, through Tuesday, Sept. 4 is The Sky is Not Blue, a collection of 50 acrylic landscape paintings Brooking’s adult students have created.

For more information or to sign up for Paint Westbrook, email [email protected].

Michael Kelley can be reached at 781-3661 x 125 or [email protected] or on Twitter @mkelleynews.

Scarborough resident Chris Davis looks out onto the Presumpscot River from the rooftop deck of offices on Ash Street as she paints during Westbrook’s inaugural plein air painting event in 2015. This year’s event is set for Sept. 8, with a rain date of Sept. 9.