From 5-9pm today (Friday, December 4), it’s the holiday edition of Albany’s monthly First Friday arts walk, so chances are you’ll find a few wonderful gift bargains and help support local Nippertown artists at the same time.

Here are a few highlights:

Doug Holst‘s “In Color” @ the Davey Jones Gallery
A collection of 50 new paintings by Holst, who is in his third year of the MFA program at UAlbany, is on view through Monday, December 28. He’s got a pretty compelling back-story to go along with his eye-popping paintings, too: Before moving to Albany, he worked as a security guard at the Milwaukee Art Museum for 13 years. Since then, the museum has purchased five of his paintings for its permanent collection.

Rick Bedrosian‘s “Picture This” @ McGreevy ProLab
Hair of the Dog bassist-vocalist-bandleader (and occasional Nippertown.com contributor) exhibits a collection of photographs that he’s taken over the years. Subjects include music, sports and beyond. On view through Friday, Januray 29.

Reading from “Moonlight Falls” by novelist Vincent Zandri with music by the Blisterz @ the Albany Public Library (Go here for details.)

Alex Albino @ Judy Rosen Real Estate
One of the reigning queens of Tess’ Lark Tavern exhibits her paintings as part of the Confluence Group Show, also featuring the work of Megahn Murphy, Mike Saltzman, Elise Nadeau, Juan Ramas and others.

“Winter Art” group show @ the National Upholstering Design Studio/Gallery
Work by nearly a dozen 10 local artists, including one-of-a-kind jewelry and ceramic pieces by Cathy Frank. Also work by David Brickman, Mike Brown, Herb Dieck, Chris DeMarco, Jim Flosdorf, Danica Lichtig, Michael Millspaugh, Wren Panzella, Paul Shapiro, and John Whipple. On exhibit through Saturday, January 30.

5th Annual Members Show @ The Albany Center Galleries
Albany Center Galleries is holding the opening reception for their Fifth Annual Members Show 6-8pm. More than 80 artists are participating (and we’re not going to list them all here) but trust us, it’s a veritable who’s who of area talent.