“FOX ON CROSSWICKS CREEK”: This painting by Margaret Simpson is part of “Water, Woods, and Wonder,” on view at the Gourgaud Gallery in Cranbury through September 28. An opening reception is on September 17 from 1-3 p.m.

Gourgaud Gallery, located in Cranbury Town Hall, 23-A North Main Street, Cranbury, presents “Water, Woods, and Wonder” by local artist Margaret Simpson through September 28. An opening reception is on Sunday, September 17 from 1-3 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

Simpson is an award-winning artist who exhibits at local venues from Phillips’ Mill in New Hope, Pa., to D&R Greenway in Princeton, and south to the Jersey shore. She teaches Art of Watercolors weekly at the West Windsor Senior Center. In addition, she has led several “Art in the Marsh” sessions for Friends for the Abbott Marshlands and serves on their executive board.

“Water, Woods, and Wonder” provides a window into the artist’s sources of inspiration. While hiking the many wooded trails of the area, she takes scenic photos. The exhibit combines her love of nature with watercolor painting. Simpson’s landscape paintings portray the Delaware River and estuary, the Delaware Bay, and several ocean and beach scenes. There are paintings of woods, with marsh and wildlife prominently displayed. Birds and sky are a reoccurring theme contributing to the wonder aspect of the exhibit. Her paintings evoke a feeling of calm and depict nature’s beauty with muted, transparent glazes, a technique that provides for subtle nuances in color.

As part of a nonprofit Cranbury Arts Council, the Gourgaud Gallery donates 20 percent of art sales to the Cranbury Arts Council and its programs that support the arts in the community. Cash or a check made out to the artist is accepted as payment.

The Cranbury Arts Council provides arts-oriented programs, workshops, and performances aimed at enriching the cultural experiences of the community and keeping the creative spirit alive in adults and children. Their mission is to foster, support, educate, inspire, and promote artists and art appreciation in the community.

Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit cranburyartscouncil.com.