PROCTORVILLE — For still life artist Debbie Richardson, the pursuit of creativity is a constant quest for knowledge and perfection.

“I don’t think a person ever quits learning. I’m always looking for something to teach myself,” Richardson said. “I’m always buying art books. A true artist is never finished. I’m always working continuously. I am never happy with what I do.”

Richard-son has an exhibit at the Ohio University Proctorville Center through June 6. The show is a combination of still lifes and a few landscapes.

A native of Huntington, W.Va., Richardson is a combination of self-taught and schooled artist.

“I grew up loving art. I did it all … painting, sketching,” she said.

Nowadays what attracts Richardson are the unusual and colorful, especially when it comes to landscapes, which she does from photos.

“I always keep a camera with me,” she said. “The still lifes are things I have in my home. I get interesting items from flea markets and pile them up and paint.”

Besides the OU show, Richardson has an exhibit at Tamarack Resort, Tamarack, W.Va. She also completed a series of line drawings for a book that will be published on Alzheimer’s disease.

“I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. This is the only way I can express myself, through my paintings,” she said.

One of her major satisfactions is when she meets buyers of her work who say they intend to pass her paintings on to family members.

“You can’t do any better than to have a legacy of your paintings,” she said.

The Proctorville gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays; and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.