Artist Dale Threlkeld returns to Dowagiac for a solo exhibition of his recent oil paintings.

The St. Louis artist was a featured speaker and exhibitor during the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival in May of 2006.

His exhibit opens at Art Exposed Gallery in the Wood Fire Italian Trattoria today, May 11.

Threlkeld grew up in rural Missouri and attended Northeast Missouri State University. He continued his studies at Ball State University and Southern Illinois University.

The artist is a veteran of the U.S. armed forces who served in Vietnam.

He retired recently after 27 years of teaching art at the community college level.

His works are in numerous collections throughout the United States, including: the Brooklyn Museum of Art; Illinois State Museum in Springfield; Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock; Atlantic Richfield Collection, Los Angeles; and the Dulin Gallery of Art, Knoxville, Tenn.

Threlkeld’s paintings will be on display at Art Exposed Gallery through the end of June.

The gallery at the Wood Fire is open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.

For more information, call Art Exposed Gallery at (269) 470-1017 or Wood Fire at 782-0007.