Thomas Locker's work displayed at Abram Lansing

Students at Abram Lansing are getting a glimpse of life in the region and the way art can be used to tell a story through the artwork of renowned artist Thomas Locker, whose works are on display at the art gallery at the school right now.

The artist, who lives in the Catskills, had Cohoes art teacher Chris Scott visit his home to select 12 paintings for the space.

"Thomas and his wife Candace are really interested in having kids experience artwork," Scott said.

Many of Locker's paintings appear as illustrations in children's books that Candace Locker writes.

"So the idea is that we show them the books that coincide with the paintings," Scott said.

Locker's work includes detailed scenes that give the viewer the feeling that he or she is getting a glimpse into a small world.

In the gallery, the books will be placed next to the paintings where they appear, so that students can see how the art is used.

Scott is going to use the paintings in a unit in art class to discuss creating a story from images, and librarian Carolyn McLoughlin plans to create correlating units in the library for students.