Artist Billyo O’Donnell and author Karen Glines present an illustrated talk about the Painting Missouri Exhibit and their book Painting Missouri: The Counties en Plein Air on Wednesday, January 28, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

Painting Missouri is a collection of landscapes by internationally known artist Billyo O’Donnell depicting all 114 Missouri counties plus the city of St. Louis. It will be on display starting Saturday, January 24, at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

This exhibit of original oil paintings is the result of a seven-year collaboration between award-winning author Karen Glines, who researched and wrote the historical and descriptive text for the book, Painting Missouri: The Counties en Plein Air, published by the University of Missouri Press, and O’Donnell, whose reproductions of the paintings are featured in the book.

O’Donnell created the paintings outdoors facing almost every weather element imaginable from sub-zero temperatures to 100-degree heat—to capture the essence of Missouri. His subjects include historic buildings, small town streetscapes, fields, streams, farmhouses, and barns. He is founder of the Artists Along the Katy Trail program and was selected as one of America’s 50 Exceptional Plein Air Painters by The Haggin Museum in Stockton, California. His work is featured in collections in the United States, Japan, and Europe.