The Marion Art Center opened a new exhibit Friday featuring the paintings of renowned artist Deborah Quinn-Munson.

A reception featuring Hors d'oeuvres, wine and the artist herself was held to celebrate the opening of the exhibit. Members of the public can see the exhibit for free at the art center every Tuesday-Friday from 1-5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m until July 14.

Quinn-Munson’s work is focused on serene places and distant horizons, executed with bold color and energetic brush strokes. Quinn-Munson earned master level designation in the International Association of Pastel Societies, and is also a member of the Salmagundi Club, the Copley Society of Art, Oil Painters of America and is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America.

“We’re very excited to have this exhibit,” Holly McDonough, a board member of the Marion Art Center said at the reception. “People in Marion really love and are drawn to the water and the ocean, and [Quinn-Munson’s] art really captures that feeling, so I think there’s a captive audience here.”

After growing up in Connecticut, Quinn-Munson moved to Dartmouth in 2006 and lived there until 2012 before moving back to Connecticut. Her family also used to spend summers in Dennis during her childhood.

“I wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember,” she said. “When I was really young, my parents bought my older brother art supplies. But he didn’t want them, so they became mine and the rest is history.”

Since then, her paintings have been displayed in exhibits all across the country, and have found their way to places like London and Japan.

Her work is also displayed in seven different hospitals across the country, something she’s very proud of.

“I’ve gotten emails from patients who said that my art had somewhat of a calming effect on them and helped make their time in the hospital a bit easier,” she said. “It’s very moving and I’m really happy that my art has been able to help people in that way.”

Quinn-Munson also said that having an individual exhibit dedicated to her art is “a pretty big deal,” and that she’s honored and excited to showcase her work in Marion.

The paintings on display at the Marion Art Center range from over a year to under a week old, Quinn-Munson said.

“There’s one that’s almost wet,” she said, gesturing to a painting behind her. “I was afraid it might not be dry in time.”

Quinn-Munson said that she’s a quick painter and that she’s able to complete most of her pieces in about a week.

“It takes me about a week, but there’s forty years of experience behind each one,” she said.

Many of the paintings on display are also complimented with floral arrangements done by members of the Marion Garden Group as part of their annual “art in bloom” exhibit.

The floral arrangements are meant to be interpretations of the paintings they’re displayed in front of, and the idea is based on similar exhibits held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

“It’s like painting with flowers,” Heather Parsons, a member of the garden group who created some of this year’s arrangements said. “You try to match the colors and the feel and the shape of the painting. Sometimes even the container is an important part of it.”

Parsons said she hopes the arrangements add to the overall experience of the exhibit.

“Hopefully, it’ll let people look at the art a little differently and let them see a little deeper into the paintings,” she said.

Connie Dolan, another member of the garden group who worked on arrangements for the exhibit, said she was able to view some of the art a few days early in order to garner inspiration for her arrangements.

“You almost get a different perspective of the art when you see it in private,” she said. “I knew right away which paintings I wanted to work with, something just hits you.”

All of Quinn-Munson’s paintings are available to purchase, and range in price from $500 to $7,000.