I was pleasantly surprised Friday night to come across watercolors and sketches by Steve Mumford—the combat artist featured in our August issue—here in Cincinnati. My husband and I stopped by Publico (as part of the Final Friday Gallery walk in Over-the-Rhine), which was already on my not-to-be-missed gallery list as I read that this opening was to be its last.

The exhibition sounded intriguing: Local Color, featuring four individual artists and one group of artists, focuses on regionalism and how one’s surroundings impact her art. And the show (on view through Dec. 30.) is great, especially the paper collages by Stephen Eichhorn, but seeing Mumford’s sketches and paintings of the war in Iraq in person is truly something spectacular. (Shown here is Pool of Oil at 299 Engineers Base (ink and watercolor on paper, 13½x11).)

I also found a video of Mumford during his last trip to Baghdad. It’s a great look at the artist’s daily life on the front lines.

Update: Publico gallery owner Paul Coors says it's not the final show, but the final regular show. The gallery will be closing after its five-year anniversary show and a series of events at the end of January.