207 W. Pioneer Ave.

Customer Appreciation Day

5-7:30 p.m., First Friday Reception

The Art Shop Gallery holds a customer appreciation reception for this month's First Friday, with free 8-inch-by-10-inch mats given away and a drawing for a free framing.

Photo provided Mary Ver Hoef's "Emerging Moose."

106 W. Bunnell Ave.

Auroras, paintings by Jim BehlkeWhat Comes Out of the Woods? paintings by Mary Ver Hoef5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception; 6 p.m., artists talk

Concert by Mariah Ver Hoef7:30 p.m.; admission is $10 adults, teens half price, youth 10 and under free.

Fairbanks artist Jim Behlke grew up watching the northern lights in Fairbanks. Working from sketches he made and from memory, and using wet-on-wet techniques, he has created paintings that appear like auroras.

Also from Fairbanks, Mary Ver Hoef's "What Comes Out of the Woods?" explores things like an emergence of new growth, a profusion of wildflowers, a rainbow of leaf color and moose. Her acrylic paintings are edged with black and white predella, ink on paper border images that are part of her signature style. Primarily a landscape painter, her moose are a newer subject for Ver Hoef, who just loves those great big noses and ears, she says.

Ver Hoef's 15-year-old daughter, singer-songwriter Mariah Ver Hoef, performs after the First Friday opening with songs from her second album, "So Far Away." Born in Fairbanks, Mariah Ver Hoef began playing violin at age 5, then moved on to bluegrass and Irish fiddle. Her music covers a wide range of instrumentation and song styles, from folk to rock to pop.

475 E. Pioneer Ave.

The Colors of Water, photography by Luanne Nelson

5-8 p.m., First Friday Reception

Photographer Luanne Nelson's exhibit is inspired by her love of Alaska's ever changing beauty: the light, the colors, the geography, the skies, and specifically, the colors of Kachemak Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

344 W. Pioneer Ave.

"Doornamentations" and "Winter Comfort II," by various artists5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception

The Homer Council on the Arts annual "doornamentation" show features wreathes and other art designed to be hung on and decorate doors. Marilyn Nelson of Bellevue, Wash., and Pam Newton also show their quilts.

Photo provided Art by Paula Dickey.

448 E. Pioneer Ave.

To Muse and Amuse, paintings by Paula Dickey

5-7:30 p.m., First Friday Reception

Revered Homer artist Paula Dickey contemplates muses in many forms. Part of her exhibit looks at her fascination with flowers. "This series, which I call 'Memory Series,' was done entirely from real blooms in my studio," she writes. "I hope they humbly represent the indescribable intricacies of the natural world. I feel deeply about the quotation from James Barrie: 'God gave us memories so we might have roses in December.'" A second series of paintings looks at box car art seen on a trip to Canada.

"This second series is indeed a traveling museum with graffiti linking the past and present history of art," Dickey writes. "Many of the box cars viewed have visible symbols and signatures, some technically very complex. I look at this art as a museum on the move."

Tile - figure (from Salty Dog)

471 E. Pioneer Ave.

Recent work by Kimberlee Best, Michael Murray and Jewels

5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception

This month's exhibit features new work in stained glass and mosaics by Kimberlee Best, mixed-media encaustics by Michael Murray and bead embroidery hangings by Jewels.

178 E. Bunnell Ave.

East End Meets Old Town, art by Lynn Marie Naden, Paul Dungan, Tarri Thurman and Marlon Prazen

5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception

A quartet of East End Road artists with established studios who have done many public art commissions show their work. Featured are Lynn Marie Naden, with clay sculpture, paper castings and multimedia art; Paul Dungan, with finely crafted pottery and sculpture; and Tarri Thurman and Marlon Prazen of Moose Run Metalsmiths with custom designs in steel, brass and copper.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong.@homernews.com..