On Thursday, Gallery 46 celebrated its three-year anniversary.

“When we opened, nobody thought this would work,” said Jon Donk, gallery manager, “but now, we’re at the point where we’re getting 20 applications a month from artists who want to show here. I think the caliber and the strength of the artists just continue to grow.”

When it first opened, Gallery 46 showcased about 15 artists at one time. Now it highlights nearly 50 and circulates between 100 artists over the course of the year. The gallery offers a variety of art from paintings and photographs to jewelry and bronze sculptures.

As artists and enthusiasts sipped on wine and noshed on pate, Donk pointed at a bronze piece by artist P.J. LaBarge depicting a huntress and her dog and said, “Now wouldn’t you just love to put this on your desk at work?”

Impressionistic landscape painter Holly Friesen stands with her work hung in Gallery 46 in Lake Placid Thursday during the gallery’s three-year anniversary. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

LaBarge said the bronze field is smaller than other art forms but still keeps enough foundries in operations. She’s from the Adirondacks, but the majority of her work is done in California and Florida, then presented in Gallery 46.

Holly Friesen is from Canada and lives in Montreal, but the natural beauty of the Adirondacks inspires her contemporary, impressionistic landscape paintings. Her pieces are both taken from real life and her perception of a particular spot in the mountains. She’ll take photos and illustrations of actual landscapes, and use those as a jumping-off point for the final design.

“It’s important for me to have an emotional connection to the spot that I’m painting,” she said, “so it can’t be something coming out of my imagination. It has to be somewhere I’ve been and smelt and felt and listened to.”

Friesen has been hanging her work in Gallery 46 since its creation.

“I love this place,” she said. “I just find it a really cool gallery. It’s got so much diversity and so many different artists.

Monoprinter Janet Millstein stands with her work hung in Gallery 46 in Lake Placid Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

Throughout the night, there was one resounding theme related to Gallery 46’s success: Donk.

“I can’t say enough about Jon,” Friesen said. “He’s fantastic. Not only is he good to his artists, but I’ve seen his action with people, and he’s just wonderful. He takes the time to talk about the artist’s work and find what people really like. It’s a good combo.”

Janet Millstein, who creates monoprints, said Donk makes a point to stay away from kitsch.

“He’s trying to move beyond what is cliche Adirondack art,” she said, “because his clientele at the LPCA are a lot of tourists. As artists, we’re very drawn to what we’re representing here, but we’re not totally hemmed in by it. Jon is slowly pushing and pushing to elevate the art to be shown anywhere, and anyone can enjoy it.”

LPCA Marketing Director Nick Gunn said Donk turned what was once just considered an extra spot to promote the LPCA into a thriving art gallery.

“He’s been able to put a lot of money back into the art community,” Gunn said, “which we always envisioned but wasn’t necessarily the goal when we first started. You look at pictures of this place three years ago, and it’s changed a lot.”