The annual exhibit of paintings by students of Terry Johnson will open Friday evening, Oct. 31, at Orcas Center, with a reception for the artists to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Madrona Room. Family and friends are invited.

Over its five years, the show has grown in both viewer popularity and number of participants. This year a total of 40 to 50 paintings will be exhibited by some 20 artists.

Johnson has taught drawing and painting for 35 years, five of them at the Center. Beyond that, he is a successful and broadly recognized painter whose works are represented by major galleries in Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Johnson notes that he does not teach art. “I teach drawing and painting,” he says. “I don’t believe art can be taught. Art consists of the responses and experiences that one gets from living, and that is subjective and individualistic.”