Mattapoisett police captain and painter Anthony Days says teachers took notice of his art while he was a student at Center School. But that attention wasn’t always positive.

“I got in trouble when I was in second or third grade for drawing too much,” said Days, a Marion resident. “My grade school teachers met, took out a folder of drawings, and said, ‘Here’s what he’s been doing in class.’”

Undeterred, Days honed his skills throughout middle and high school, though the practice sessions no longer occurred at the expense of academics.

Days, 51, is now a prolific artist who has donated work to several nonprofits to raise funds. A Mattapoisett Police Department officer for 30 years, he sees his art as serving another important purpose – breaking down barriers between the public and law enforcement.

“Art has always been a way for me to cross boundaries,” he said. “Some people don’t expect police officers to have any other talents. We’re pigeonholed.”

To challenge that stereotype, Days and first responders from across the South Coast will showcase their work in “March of the Unwavering,” an exhibit featuring the art of EMTs, corrections officers, police and firefighters.

Organized by New Bedford Police Lt. Scott Carola, the show is open now until March 17 at the UMass College of Visual and Performing Arts in downtown New Bedford, at 715 Purchase St. An opening reception is set for Thursday, March 10 at 6 p.m.

Days said he wasn’t aware of many other artists in law enforcement until he connected with Carola via Facebook.

“We hit it off. Here he is the big city cop and I’m a local, small town guy, but we have that common interest,” Days said. “Him and I have been working together to open people’s eyes.”

Days said after graduating Old Rochester Regional High School he put his paint brushes away for a little over a decade.

He started his professional career as an EMT in Mattapoisett and soon after joined the police force. While his great-grandfather served as a medic in Word War I, Days said he’s the only member of his immediate family to start a career in public safety.

He’s quick to note that artistic talent is prevalent in his parents, siblings and children.

“Everybody in my family has a little bit of art in them,” Days said. “It wasn’t unusual to see someone at the dining room table doodling.”

In his 30s, Days started painting again, mostly watercolors. His favorite subjects are his hometown of Mattapoisett, lighthouses, seascapes and landscapes.

Days has illustrated the bridge on River Road near his childhood home in Mattapoisett so many times he can draw the stone crossing from memory.

Another illustration features a detailed scene of the Mattapoisett Town Hall. In it, a former Selectman, and friend of Days’ father, is seen folding the American flag after it was lowered from the pole.

For Days, art also provides stress release.

“It brings me right back to being a kid,” he said. “It’s almost mediative, and it can be maddening at the same time.”

He learned most of skills through local schools and still keeps in touch with former art teachers to ask for tips. A member of the Marion Art Center and Mattapoisett Area Artists, Days is also tapped into the tri-town art scene.

Recently, he started experimenting with oil paints, a much different medium than the watercolors he’s used to.

“This has been a lot more challenging because you get out of your comfort zone when you change mediums,” he said, “but I love it.”

Right now, he’s finishing an oil painting of New Bedford’s historic Palmer Island Light. Once completed, it will be auctioned off during the Healing little Hearts 9th Annual Gala & Auction.

The auction, set for March 5 inside New Bedford’s Whaling Museum, benefits the organization that’s dedicated to researching pediatric heart defects.

Days has also sold paintings at local events, such as Harbor Days.

As fulfilling as it is to sell his work, Days said he also gives back when possible, donating his art for auction or sale to benefit area nonprofits.

A recent surgery had the prolific artist on leave from his job and away from the canvas for five months last year, but once he was well enough, Days picked up right where he left off.

With a strong urge to help others, whether he meets them on the beat or in an art gallery, Days said he feels compelled to share his talent.

“People don’t realize we do other things, we have other interests,” he said. “Society sometimes needs a reminder that the people who serve you are people too.”