by Anne-Gerard Flyn

Visitors to Northampton's Hart Gallery are going to find themselves face-to-face with area artists.

"I like walking into a room and seeing faces - especially familiar ones." said gallery director Bill Muller That's one of the reasons he invited artists in the region to submit self-portraits for a group show.

The exhibit of approximately 50 works opens tomorrow, with a public reception scheduled Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. Participants include both established and emerging artists. "I initially invited 25 people who told other people and the word spread," Muller said.

Muller said the show is especially interesting because of what it reveals about the participants. Ashfield artist Jane Lund chose to show her more whimsical side, for example, by painting her own portrait as the cartoon character Little Lulu.

"People might know an artists work without knowing anything about them as a person. This exhibit is a chance to connect the dots," Muller said.

Other self-images on view include Hatfield artist Diane Savino's miniature portrait enshrined in the gold leaf for which she is known; portrait painter K. Flagg Waltermire at his easel in Deerfield; Amherst still-life artist Nancy Miller posed with an apple on one shoulder and a pear on the other: Goshen artist Pamela Stabile's abstract depiction of herself; and Greenfield artist Frank Gregory's realistic rendering done looking in a mirror.

Muller called Louise LaPlante's portrait one of his favorites. The collage-style piece includes a childhood photo of the Northampton artist with her hair in ringlets.

"She has short hair now, but apparently the curls were a big deal to her growing up," Muller said.

Northampton photographer Stephen Petegorsky's submission also features a boyhood memory.

"He said he liked to stand on his head a lot as a child," Muller said; the photo shows an upside-down Petegorsky on the beach.

Northampton artist Robin Freedenfeld said the challenge in doing a self-portrait is in the "constant conflict between what be." Freedenfeld submitted a painting of herself standing in a field, dressed in a winter hat and tunic-style top and holding a reflecting globe. She said the work has taken on some unintended meaning.

"I do a lot of reflective surfaces in my work and I wanted to do Something in the environment, but people think I'm presenting myself as a soothsayer in the painting," Freedenfeld said.

Belchertown artist Donna Estabrooks said she felt her portrait - done during breaks from breast-feeding her 4-month-old son - left little doubt as to its reference.

"It's me as the milk machine," Estabrooks said.