Seven West Hall High School students have their paintings on display at the Hall County Government Center’s first ever public art show.

“We are really excited to get some publicity for our growing art department,” art teacher Erica Lackey said. “As an artist and educator, it’s exciting to have your students experience public recognition for their work.”

The pieces are among 21 that are part of the public art exhibit at the facility at 2875 Browns Bridge Road in Gainesville.

The artwork can be found on the second, third and fourth floors of the government center. It will be on display for about six months and available for viewing from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and when the building is open outside of those normal operating hours for public meetings.

Connie Lynn Reilly is the show’s featured artist; her oil and pastel portraits are displayed on the second floor of the building.

Reilly is a prominent member of the art community in Gainesville. She has displayed her art at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center, donated artwork to charity auctions in Gainesville and is part owner of the Gallery on the Square with nine other artists.

Other pieces include landscape and still life paintings by Nancy Hunt, James Tanner and Susan Medrow and a woven piece by Clara Giraldo.

The West Hall students say they are proud to be a part of the show.

“I’d say one of the best things is knowing it will have an influence on other people’s lives,” sophomore Leilani Perreira said. “Even if it’s only for a moment, it’s amazing to know it may have impacted a passing stranger.”

The student pieces are from a “Local Scapes” project that Lackey assigned. Students were to photograph a landscape, cityscape or waterscape in Hall County and create an acrylic painting based on that image.

Reilly also selected pieces representing Hall County.

“It has so much to offer,” Reilly said. “Each painting has its own story and received its own inspiration. I am inspired by the beauty of the human form, and I was moved upon in different ways at different moments in my life.”

Reilly was selected as the featured artist by the Hall County Government Center Public Art Committee, which includes county officials, art gallery owners and artists.