LA GRANDE — Art Center East (ACE) presents “Avian Neighbors,” an exhibit featuring new original paintings of flora and fauna by Pendleton-based watercolorist Hiroko Cannon, in its Main Gallery.

The community is invited to attend a free opening reception on Friday, Sept. 9, 6-8 p.m. “Avian Neighbors” will be on display through Oct. 22.

For the past 20 years, Cannon has used the plants and wildlife of the Columbia Plateau as the inspiration for and subjects of her watercolor paintings. She moved to Pendleton from Japan in 1986, and in her work she references the Japanese Muromachi period’s simplicity of unfilled space. She spends weeks or months painting each piece using tiny brushes to apply the paint in a pencil-like manner.

Cannon has donated an archival print (16⅜ inches by 22 inches) of her painting “Hummingbirds & Trumpet Flower” — valued at $150 — to a raffle. Purchase tickets ($1 for one ticket; $5 for six tickets) between the Sept. 9 opening reception and the Oct. 21 closing reception. The raffle winner will be announced Saturday, Oct. 22.

The closing reception for “Avian Neighbors,” free and open to the public, will be held Friday, Oct. 21, 6-8 p.m.

Find out more about this exhibit and other ACE exhibits, classes and events, at artcentereast.org.

Art Center East, 1006 Penn Ave., in La Grande is open Wednesday-Friday, noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Exhibits can also be viewed online at artcentereast.org thanks to a partnership with John J. Howard Real Estate in La Grande.

What: Opening of “Avian Neighbors” by watercolorist Hiroko Cannon

When: Friday, Sept. 9, 6-8 p.m.

Where: Art Center East, 1006 Penn Ave., La Grande