Through Sunday, May 14, visitors to C.H. Booth Library in Newtown can look up more than their favorite books when they visit 25 Main Street. They can also take a look at a wide representation of some of the best artwork regional artists have to offer in a number of media.

The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown is currently hosting its 30th Annual Spring Juried Art Show. Last weekend saw the official opening of the show, along with an awards reception on May 6 that included the presentation of more than $1,000 in cash prizes and gift certificates. A collective of 100 artists are represented in this year’s spring show by 185 works in pastel, oil, watercolor, mixed media, acrylic, and graphics.

Mel Crawford, Dave Faust, and Anda Styler served as SCAN’s jury of selection last week, as artists arrived at the Newtown library with their entries for the ten-day show. Three professional artists — Marc Chabot, Hank McLaughlin, and John Swatsley — then had the challenge of serving as the show’s jury of awards.

Marc Chabot teaches drawing and printmaking and lectures on art. He is also the owner and operator of Marc Chabot Fine Arts, in Woodbury, which specializes in original prints and drawings, as well as out-of-print art reference books, exhibition catalogues, and ephemera, and offers appraisals of fine art and books. Mr Chabot was recently awarded an artist fellowship from the Connecticut Commission of the Arts and he recently exhibited 14 monotypes of landscapes at the Mattatuck Museum in Woodbury.

Hank McLaughlin is a member of Connecticut Classic Arts and the Salmagundi Club. His artwork is exhibited locally, he has won a number of awards, and he is represented by galleries in New York and California. He studied with Harold Wolcott and Robert Brackman at Art Students’ League in New York City.

John Swatsley received formal art training at The Art Center College of Design in California. After working in magazine art direction, he moved into freelance illustration, specializing in wildlife and historical subjects. He now devotes his time exclusively to wildlife painting; extensive trips to Alaska, South Africa, Botswanna, Zimbabwe, and Kenya are a continuing source of inspiration.

The awards were announced during the show’s opening reception Saturday afternoon. The top prize of the show, a $300 cash prize and the Larry Newquist Award for Excellence/Best-in-Show, was presented by show chairman Susan Deming to Rosemary Barrett for her oil painting, “Nurturing the Night.” The late Mr Newquist, for whom the award was renamed a few years ago, was the founder of the Newtown-based arts organization.

Additional awards were as follows: The Bee Publishing Co. Award ($150), to Gregory R. Miller for “Melvin,” a graphics work; The Newtown Savings Bank Award ($150), to Rainie Crawford for “Bisque Doll with Blue Sash,” a pastel; and The Taunton Press Award ($150) to Frank Federico for “Vacation Town,” a watercolor.

SCAN sponsored three awards, of $100 each, which went to Marilyn Ventresca DiChiara for her graphics work, “Sand Dollar”; Lee Brents for “Candlewood Lake, Autumn,” a watercolor; and Dolores Pearl for her graphics work, “Sad Eyes.”

Also presented was The Amaral Motors Award ($50), to Melody Asbury, the current president of SCAN, for “Bull,” an oil painting; and The Dressler Industries/Instrument Division Award ($50) to Eleanor Loecher for her mixed media work entitled “Classic Lady.”

Dick Blick Art Supplies once again hosted a number of gift certificate awards this spring, with four gift certificates of $50 each going to Paula Renee for “Greeters, Morocco,” a watercolor; Carol Reeves for “Mums the Word,” a pastel painting; Ellie Bender for her pastel, “Tulips and Pears”; and  Hope Kocian for her graphics work, “Equus.”

Also presented was The Grey Horse Gallery Award ($50 gift certificate), to Walter M. Ostrander for his acrylic called “The Little Woods”; The Barn Gallery Award ($50 gift certificate), to Lee Brownell for “Flag Pole Building #1,” an oil; and Dominick J. Tomanelli for his graphics work, “City Streets.”

While the SCAN show is on view, the art organization is also hosting a special one-man exhibition of works by the artist Franklin Jones. Paintings by Mr Jones, who has had a long and rich career in both illustration and fine arts, are on view throughout the main floor of Booth Library.

The SCAN Spring Juried Art Show and the Franklin Jones exhibition will both remain on view through Sunday, May 14. Both are open to the public, free of charge, any time the library is open. The majority of the works in the SCAN show are available for purchase; details are available at the library.