RACINE — Northern Lights Gallery, 423 Main St., will present the watercolor works of Maria Varga. An opening reception will be held on Gallery Night from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, during Gallery Night. Music will be provided by David Ramsey, a University of Wisconsin-Parkside music major. Refreshments and appetizers will be served.

This will be Varga’s first U.S. show featuring watercolor paintings of Racine landmarks created  since arriving here from Austria in March. Varga is formally trained in theatrics, and worked for Hungarian radio and television as a commercial editor. However painting has always been a part of her life. She prefers encaustic painting, an ancient technique using melted bees wax with pigment added, a skill she learned while studying in Austria and France.

Varga’s work has been shown at various expositions throughout Europe, including the Vienna Institue of Arts and Crafts, and in Athens at the Greek and Austrian Cultural Institute. She has accumulated a significant portfolio of watercolors capturing many of Racine’s famous landmarks in stark realism.