The sun shining brightly in the sky makes for a wonderful setting to create art, or at least, look at it.

Four downtown art galleries will take part in this summer's First Friday Gallery Walk from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 11, in downtown Decatur.

The Madden Arts Center, Blue Connection, Gallery 510 and Richland Community College at the Lincoln Square Theatre will each have an artist's talk during the evening, as well as serve hors d'oeuvres and provide musical entertainment.

"Portraying Lincoln: Man of Many Faces" continues to be on display through July at the Anne Lloyd Gallery in downtown Decatur. During the gallery walk, local sculptor John McClarey will be outside of the Madden Arts Center working on a clay replica of Honest Abe. He will speak about his research to create his Lincoln pieces.

Next door, recent Millikin alum Lee Larkins will have his traditional black and white photography on exhibit at Blue Connection at 117 N. Water St. in downtown Decatur. Larkins will present an artist talk at 6:30 p.m. at Blue Connection.

Oil paintings by Barbara Dove will be on display at Gallery 510 at 160 E. Main St. Her work includes landscape and children's portraits. Manley Mallard will entertain on guitar and light refreshments will be served. Dove will present an artist talk at 5:45 and 7:15 p.m. at Gallery 510.

Richland Community College Art Professor Gil Rocha will bring his artwork of taffy apples, tea bags, haystacks and windswept cars to the Lincoln Square Theatre at 141 N. Main St. in Decatur. An artist talk by Rocha will be at 5:45 and 7:15 p.m. at the downtown theater.

For more information, call the Anne Lloyd Gallery at 423-3189, Blue Connection at 428-0112, Gallery 510 at 422-1509 and Richland Community College at 875-7211, ext. 480.

AIRPORT/LIBRARY: The watercolors of Decatur artist Jessica Disbrow will be on display during the month of July in the main passenger terminal of the Decatur Airport.

Photography by Sullivan artist Carol Anderson will be on display throughout July on the second floor of the Decatur Public Library downtown.

Both exhibits are open free to the public for viewing during business hours.

BICENTENNIAL ART CENTER: Paris' Bicentennial Art Center and Museum will hold their Annual Midwest Photography Show July 25 to Aug. 22. The juried show will include adult and youth artwork on display at 132 S. Central Ave. in Paris. An opening reception is from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 25, at the gallery.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

For more information, visit www.parisartcenter.com or call 466-8130.

CULTIVATING CREATIVITY: The traveling exhibition Cultivating Creativity 2007-2008: Consolidated Communications Children's Art Exhibit is on display at the Marshall Public Library, 612 Archer Ave., through July 10. From there, it will move onto the Citizens National Bank at 12 W. Main St. in Oakland, where it will be on display from July 12 to 31. The free exhibit showcases art produced during the 2006-07 school year by students of East-Central Illinois school art programs.

EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY: Paintings and drawings by Illinois artists is on display through Aug. 17 in the Main Galleries of the Tarble Arts Center at Ninth Street and Cleveland Avenue in Charleston.

The exhibit features artwork of a wide variety of styles and subjects in painting and drawing media selected from the Tarble Arts Center permanent collection.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. The gallery is closed the Fourth of July.

For more information, visit www.eiu.edu/~tarble or call 581-2787.

FESTIVAL OF LIFE, CHICAGO: Martin's International Culture's 16th Annual African/Caribbean International Festival of Life will be from July 3 to 6 in Washington Park at 55th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago. Hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

The four-day event's theme this year is "Bringing Nations Together" and is dedicated to health awareness. The event will feature reggae, calypso and gospel music various kinds of arts and crafts for sale.

Daily admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children under 12 and seniors, and free to kids age 6 and under. A $30 season pass covers all four days. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com or at Martin's International Culture, Inc., at 1325 S. Wabash Ave., Suite 307, in Chicago or by calling 312-559-1212.

For more information, visit www.festivaloflife.biz.

ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: "Songbirds and Waterfowl," an art exhibit by McLean County artists Patrick Gregory and Steve Quiram, is on display through Aug. 10 in the Merwin Gallery of the Ames School of Art at 6 Ames Plaza West, Bloomington.

Gregory is an award-winning decoy artist who carves both ducks and fish, and Quiram is known for capturing the realistic movement, form and colors of birds and wildlife in his work.

Gallery hours are noon to 3 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

For more information, visit www.iwu.edu or call 309-556-3391.

SUGAR CREEK ARTS FESTIVAL, NORMAL: The 25th Annual Sugar Creek Arts Festival is July 12 and 13 at North and School Streets, Normal. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, visit www.mcac.org.

Alicia Spates can be reached at aspates@herald-review.com or 421-6986.