For residents not familiar with the Cape Elizabeth Art League, the exhibit at Thomas Memorial Library is a chance to see the work of a dedicated group of artists.

The library, on Scott Dyer Road, is hosting a reception from 5:30-7 p.m. on Friday to celebrate the exhibit of paintings by 13 members of the league. The display is up for the month of October, and the artwork is for sale.

Artist Marty Clark, of Brentwood Road, said the league members exhibit every October at the library.

“It is nice to have other people who want to talk about art,” said Clark, 63, about the league on Friday.

“The first couple of years I was very nervous to display my work,” said Clark. Now, she said, she views it as a nice way to show what she has learned over the years. “I don’t expect to sell anything,” she said.

Bob Crane, 85, of Starboard Drive, said on Monday the league was started about 20 years ago by Irving and Priscilla Chappell because there were amateur painters in Cape Elizabeth who wanted to get together to paint and talk about painting. The group meets every Tuesday from 9 a.m.-noon at the Community Center, 343 Ocean House Road, where most of the members have taken art classes.

Crane, who has been retired for 20 years, has been a league member about 16 years. He said since retiring, he has been trying new things. Painting was one of those.

He said a few people in the group have painted all their lives and have degrees in art, but “most of us don’t do much painting except once a week.”

“It helps to have peers critique your work. I think that’s the biggest benefit, and also, it gives you time to paint,” said Emily Keith, 64, who has been with the league about three years.

Keith said she has been painting for 45 years, studying art in college. Before retiring and having time to focus again on creating her oil canvases, she worked as a graphic artist.

Keith has lived in Cape on Reef Road with her husband Don since 1999.

The Cape Elizabeth Art League invites people to join them on Tuesdays, said Clark, who has been with the league about 11 years. She said anyone interested should contact the Community Center.

The group is very laid back, said Clark. It is not so much a class as a casual group of friends with art as the focus.

“We are a group of people who enjoy painting,” said Crane, “and we have the fun of displaying our work at the art show once a year.”

Other members of the group whose work will be on display include Jean Fine, Susan Fisher, Nancy Hancock, Rose Kennealy, Ellen Knight, Sophie Kourakos, Deanna Robishaw and Doris Strout.

1751 – Emily Keith talks on Friday about an oil painting she has been working on.