Bill Parmer's oil painting of the St. Regis River where the east and west branches join. A collection of Parmer's paintings is displayed at TAUNY through Sept. 12.

CANTON -- If you travel the country roads around St. Lawrence County, you may have seen Bill Parmer working on a painting by the roadside.

Now through Sept. 12 visitors to The TAUNY Center, 53 Main St., can see a display of original oil paintings Bill has made along the back roads in Waddington, Lawrenceville, Hopkinton, Winthrop, and other nearby towns.

The exhibit includes Bill's commentary about each painting as well as his general process. Bill travels throughout the North Country and into other states to paint, but most of the time you will find him close to his home in Buckton, just east of Potsdam. He paints in all weather except high wind and driving rain.

Most of the paintings in the show depict farms, though some feature other aspects of local culture, such as the iron bridge in Brasher Falls and a laker moving up the St. Lawrence River.

TAUNY Executive Director Jill Breit describes Parmer’s work as creating a record of rural life in 21st century St. Lawrence County. “I love Bill’s paintings because with his brushes he is documenting the interaction of people with the landscape in which they live. In this regard, his work is aligned with TAUNY’s mission to tell the story of our region’s cultural heritage. And the paintings are visually very beautiful.”

Capturing the feel of a scene is more important to Parmer than rendering each detail precisely. “Driving down the road, you see a thousand scenes, but one of them you want to paint. When you approach a picture, you should first really be in touch with how you feel about the place. Once you know why you want to paint it, then you can follow that direction.”

Even though Bill is guided by feel, he cares about the history and stories of a particular scene. He finds out who lived in the houses he paints, and pays attention to how farmers are using the fields around them, a release says. Rivers also appear regularly in Bill’s paintings, and show evidence of past industrial use of the rivers, as well as current recreational use.

The TAUNY Center is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All the paintings in the display are for sale. For more information, visit tauny.org.