Heather Barron came to an important realization about walking her dog one day.

"It's usually not me walking him, it's him getting me out to walk," she said.

This thought prompted Salt Lake resident Barron, an artist for the past eight years, to document it as a series of paintings called "Walking the Human."

Some of Barron's "Walking the Human" paintings will be on display at Phillips Gallery, 444 E. 200 South, Salt Lake City, starting tonight for the gallery's annual Summer Group Show. The group show features art by the more than 90 artists represented by Phillips, and several new artists will also be introduced.

An artist's reception and gallery stroll will be held tonight, July 20, from 6-9 p.m. at Phillips Gallery. Artwork for the Summer Group Show will be on display through Sept. 14.

Hadley Rampton, fine art consultant for Phillips, said the show is designed to showcase work from all the artists the gallery represents.

"It's a great testament to the variety and depth of Utah art," she said. "It's fun to be able to have a few pieces out by all the artists we represent so (visitors) can get a good feeling for everyone."

The show is more exciting with the plethora of artwork displayed, Rampton said.

"It creates a dynamic show.... It's fun because it's not a specific show geared toward specific clientele," she said.

The Summer Group Show also helps draw visitors to the gallery during a less busy time.

"Generally this is the slower season. A lot of people are out of town," Rampton said. "We're surprised as to the turnout.... It's a nice thing to do to get out of the heat and see a good variety of artwork."

John Erickson, who has been showing his artwork at Phillips since the mid-1980s, said the show is a great time to display his outdoor paintings. He likes to use the plein air technique, which involves painting landscapes.

"I paint outdoors quite a bit," he said. "I've shown a lot of landscape paintings I've done on location, familiar spots out on Salt Lake."

Summer also serves as a gateway for people to return to their youth.

"When we become adults we have to worry about the future, based on the past, and we begin to lose that sense of immediacy of the present that we have when we're children," Erickson said. "There's something about the artmaking process that calls you to live again in the now. That's what I like about the combination of summer and the artmaking process."

Barron said the show is great to help celebrate work of fellow artists.

"I just enjoy seeing all the other artists," she said. "They have a large variety of different mediums and styles. It's nice to see such a large variety."

The gallery will hold a second opening of the exhibit Aug. 17 from 6-9 p.m. While most artwork will stay the same, a few pieces will change. Admission to both gallery strolls is free and open to the public. For more information, call the gallery at 364-8284 or visit www.phillips-gallery.com.

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E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com