The Utah County Art Board will open its spring exhibition, "Showing Off Utah Artists," with a reception and awards ceremony Friday night.

Of the 122 entries submitted by 71 artists, the art board selected 72 pieces for display during the two-month exhibition. Entry fees and county funds provide first-, second- and third-place cash prizes. Most of the artists whose works appear in the exhibition hail from cities in Utah County, but some are from Salt Lake City and Ogden.

"It's kind of a thrill to have a venue for artists to show their work," said exhibition director Anne Weber. "It's difficult for some artists to find a venue. There's a lot of galleries in Salt Lake and Park City, but most artists aren't accepted into those galleries."

Weber said the purpose of this show is to create an opportunity for Utah artists, particularly those who are less well-known, to display their work in public.

"Intermediate artists need this kind of opportunity to get their work in front of the public," Weber said. "A great many BYU students submitted their work, but there's also plenty of professionals who submitted."

The artworks include paintings and a few photographs, but no sculptures. Mapleton artist Lyn Briggs's painting "Leigh Lake" was selected for the exhibition.

"It's a rendition of Leigh Lake in Teton National Park with Mt. Moran in the background," Briggs said. "It's near the place where I put in my kayak, and it's one of the prettiest places on Earth."

Briggs took several photographs of the area and painted the scene with gouache, or opaque watercolor paints. He said he usually paints desert landscapes, but in this work he wanted to try to reproduce the transparency of the water in the lake.

After graduating in zoology, Briggs worked as a conservation officer for 30 years, and now paints in his spare time.

"I don't let it get in the way of my golf and goofing off, though," Briggs said. "I like to paint in the winter when there's nothing to do outside."

The Utah County Art Board is a volunteer council of Utah County residents who meet once a month to organize art exhibitions at the Utah County Gallery. The exhibitions are changed monthly, except for the spring and fall shows, which remain for two months. Briggs said he appreciates the publicity and work the art board puts into the exhibition.

"I feel like if they're going to put out an art exhibit, we as artists should support it and submit our work," Briggs said. "It's a lot of work and people spend a lot of time on it. I appreciate them putting on the show."

Showing Off Utah Artists

When: Opening reception is 6-8 p.m. Friday. Exhibition is open until June 23.

Where: Utah County Gallery in the Health and Justice Building, 151 S. University Ave., in Provo

Tickets: Reception and exhibition are both free and open to the public

Info: 491-7288