Rich Abrahamson/The Coloradoan SUMMER SHOW: Loveland artist Sharon Carlisle eyes the placement of poplar branches skinned in leather while setting artifacts from her installation 'Landscape for an Institution of Higher Learning.' On display dellnova Gallery presents "Summer Yearnings," featuring new works by member artists, with an opening reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at dellnova Gallery located in Java Lounge, 234 E. Fourth St., Loveland. The exhibit runs Saturday through Aug. 31. Information: 222-3899.

The heat is getting to a group of dellnova Gallery artists in an inventive way.

At least one of them is seeing things. And painting them.

"I started thinking about the notion of summertime and getting off to the mountains where it's cooler," said Loveland artist Dave Phelps. "So I have these landscapes in the show that are actually surrealist paintings where I've taken landscapes I've found at Goodwill and the ARC, prints, and altered them so that when you look at them they're one step removed from reality. They're just a little tweaked into the surrealist zone."

"Summer Yearnings," opening this weekend at dellnova Gallery in Loveland, features some 30 art pieces in various mediums by eight of the contributors to the small gallery that gives an artsy twist to its adjacent coffeeshop, Java Lounge. There will be a reception on Saturday at the small gallery.

The show features mediums including ceramics, paintings, photography and print making.

And it's ideal for this time of year when people want to cram a variety of things into the long summer days of the short season.

"They don't need to spend a lot of time in there, and it's a chance to engage their imagination with the imagination of the artist," said Tom Katsimpalis, one of the artists in the member artist show, who calls the exhibit "a very eclectic mix."

To photographer William Sharp, escaping for the summertime means looking at things the ways we wouldn't normally see them.

"I take a lot of shots of plant material," said Sharp, whose photo work in the show focuses in on plants, flowers, rock and soil. "It's actually done on a very small scale, but it takes normal natural subjects and moves them out of their normal scale and perception for the viewer. The subject matter is all natural and it's photographed and printed without the use of computers or artificial filters."

dellnova hosts various shows throughout the year and opened last year in a cooperative effort by several local artists. The gallery occasionally features guest artists. This particular show features work by artists who helped found the gallery.