If the weather Friday kept anyone from getting to the Franklin Park Zoo or the New England Aquarium, the Dublin Community Center offered a “Plan B,” as the works of six artists focused on animals and marine life filled the walls of the DubHub, with the artists explaining their works. 

“The Critter Show” is an exhibition that opened May 9, featuring works by painters as close as Peterborough and Keene and as far away as Lebanon. 

Mary Iselin of Marlborough has captured sheep and draft horses in her works, inspired by years on a farm.

“My husband and I came back from our honeymoon early because we both wanted to be back on the farm,” she said.

Kristina Gulla is a local fan who said of Iselin’s work, “Each one encapsulates a spiritual moment.”

John Kenyon of Lebanon explained being drawn to his subjects simply.

“I love animals, and the human aspects of them. Think of it: we name them,” he said. “We project personalities onto them, and they evoke emotions in us in return.”

Taking in one of his paintings of a ram, guests used terms such as “wise” and “regal” to describe the creature of Kenyon’s brushstrokes.

Jane E. Simpson of Dublin often works on used and found materials such as vintage photographs and pages of old books, sometimes with watercolors, sometimes with graphite, occasionally with cats and dogs as subjects.

“I get bored doing the same thing, and I like giving things a second life,” she explained.

A League of New Hampshire Craftsmen state-juried member and three time I-Park Foundation fellow, one of Simpson’s works on display is on an envelope mailed in 1941 with the letter still inside it. 

David Bulger, who works out of his Harrisville studio, said he did not begin creating art until he was 40. A self-assured rooster and a herd of lolling elephants are among the subjects of his work on display at the DubHub.

“I love an animal’s gaze, looking deep into the eyes,” he said. 

Rosemary Conroy has some up-close-and-personal portraits of creatures on display, explaining that “I have met most of my subjects in person, because that matters to me.” These subjects include a bear and an octopus.

“I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the New England Aquarium and got to shake hands with it,” she said of the octopus. Her website notes that she tries to return the favor to animals by donating 10% of her profits to conservation groups.

Acrylic artist Joan Barrows resurrects drop cloths and stretches them on homemade frames. The yellow and black stripes of a caterpillar suggest a much larger creature. She has been focusing on species native to New Hampshire for a few years, explaining in her artist bio that “New Hampshire natives are by definition a resilient bunch.” In the winter, however, she uses oils. Her “Lab in Winter” work features a friend looking ready to spring after a thrown tennis ball. 

Works of the six artists will be on display at the DubHub on Main Street in Dublin through June 4.