Before she picked up a delicate paintbru

Before she picked up a delicate paintbrush on a recent Sunday afternoon, Diane Grant Czajkowski put a much larger set of bristles to use.

“I brush my subjects in more ways than one,” said the artist, whose passion for horses makes grooming their glossy coats as enjoyable as painting their pictures.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m cleaning them, riding them or sketching them,” said Czajkowski, 57, of Ashley. “I just love them. I’ve always loved them since I was a little girl. They’re just a gift from God.”

If you’d like to see a collection of Czajkowski’s work this week, you can venture just a few steps from Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square to Barnes & Noble Booksellers on South Main Street, where it will be on display as part of the “Arts Around Town” exhibits organized in conjunction with the Fine Arts Fiesta.

She may bring the portrait of Oden, an Arabian horse owned by a friend, even if it is still a work in progress.

The artist intended to include in her “Arts Around Town” exhibit a painting titled “Autumn Colors Drive,” which she was inspired to create after riding in a friend’s wagon, pulled by two huge Percheron horses. “Everyone should take this ride at least once,” she told herself.

Then she found out that painting was chosen for the Juried Art Show at the Fiesta, so you can find it under the appropriate tent on Public Square, along with Czajkowski’s painting of a pony peeking its head out of a barn.

Being with horses is an uplifting way to spend time, Czajkowski said, and she hopes people who see her work will experience some of the joy she feels.