A pair of exhibitions currently on view is offering one of the first opportunities for the public to enjoy art locally now that COVID-19 guidelines are loosening.

Face masks and social distancing are required at both locations, but the appeal of art by regional artists is strong and something that has been missed in recent months. The pandemic guidelines feel almost secondary while taking in the collections. Viewing art feels like a prepandemic joy, something that was taken for granted until last spring.

Booth Library

Thirteen paintings by a celebrated Newtown artist are on view at the C.H. Booth Library.

The collection of works by Ruth Newquist, a signature artist of the National Watercolor Society, is on view through April 23 in the second floor hallway of the library, 25 Main Street.

Newquist and her husband, the late Larry Newquist, founded the Society of Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN) fifty years ago.

Mrs Newquist continues to celebrate her hometown, and New York City, with large and immediately recognizable oils and watercolors.

She has received countless accolades, including artist memberships in the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, Allied Artists of America, the Salmagundi Club in New York City, the Shore Art Association in Gloucester, Mass., and the Connecticut Watercolor Society.

Her signature works are widely shown throughout New England.

Newquist’s oils and watercolors can be seen any time the library is open: Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am-7 pm, and Friday and Saturday, 9:30 am-4 pm. Three of her works are also included in the second exhibition on view in town.

Municipal Center

At Newtown Municipal Center, “Color in Winter and into Spring” is on view until April 30 in the main corridor of 3 Primrose Street.

The show had been postponed twice before opening last month. SCAN’s annual winter show, “Color in Winter,” traditionally opens at the beginning of January, and remains on view for two months.

This year, however, the pandemic changed those plans.

With the need to maintain distancing and prevent groups from gathering, the exhibition opened March 1 and will extend into spring. To honor the delayed opening, organizers renamed this year’s show “Color in Winter and into Spring.”

There are 73 works on view, representing 27 members of SCAN, including the three aforementioned pieces by Newquist. There are oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, fused glass pieces, and a few mixed-media works. The vast majority are available for purchase.

Members this year could enter as many works as they wanted. Some registered as many as five works for the exhibition. For most SCAN exhibitions, artists are limited to two or three works, and pay a fee to the organization for each work entered.

Show chair Adele Moros said those rules were waived for this exhibition.

“There is no limit this time,” Moros said during the show’s receiving hours. “We just want to get people out, and we want to give them something to look at.”

As promised by the show’s title, the collection is indeed a bright, colorful presentation.

“Color in Winter and Into Spring” can be viewed weekdays between 8 am and 4:30 pm.