Local artist Josh Scott is September’s featured artist at the Opp Cultural Arts Center, his first solo show.

The show includes 26 or 27 pieces, he said, including older and new pieces. He said his work is varied because he bores easily.

“Some artist paint basically around the same theme,” he said. “I get bored and try something new.”

He also works construction, and said he finds inspiration in things he observes, and from observing the work of others.

Lately, he’s been working more in oil, and experimenting with a technique that involves spreading the paint with his hands.

“I saw a video of a girl named Iris Scott who lives in New York and has a different painting technique. She does everything by hand. So I put on some gloves and tried it. You get a lot more paint on the canvas this way.”

Another recent work – a tiger – is actually a collage. He painted paper, then cut it up to create the image, a process which took about 30 hours, he said.

“The process forced me to take my time,” he said. “I committed to do this in two hour chunks every night. I would come set a timer, and when it went off, that’s when I stopped.”

He said he does food paintings because he likes to eat, and because he thinks they make nice artwork for kitchens. The current show features a hamburger and variations on a pizza.

Scott was born in Niagra Falls, but has deep family ties to the region.

“My grandparents are from here,” he said. “My granddad was born in Georgiana, and my grandmother was born in Gantt. After he got back from the Army in World War II, they moved up to Niagra Falls where he had a job at the Dupont plant. When his grandfather retired, his grandparents moved back to Alabama, and the family slowly followed.

In 2017, he was the featured artist at Three Notch Market in Andalusia, and also has exhibited at OCAC, Rudd Art Center, Andalusia Ballet, and the LAAC.

The OCAC plans a reception from 6 until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, September 18. The OCAC’s gallery is located at 107 S. Main Street in Opp. The gallery also is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.