Kay Van Dyke doesn’t rest on her laurels. The great-grandmother is semi-retired after a long career in architecture, but she recently opened a new office on Gloucester Main Street where she’ll continue her design work while also overseeing a small art gallery in the same space.

Van Dyke said when she rented the office in the same building as Oasis Books she realized it had more space than she needed, so she decided to open up the front area for artists who want additional opportunities to display their work.

“There’s so much room here,” she said. “I wanted to fill it with art.”

On Tuesday morning, the walls were alive with colorful paintings by several local artists, while a number of dramatic sculptures were on display in the windows. Van Dyke had an eye on everything while nestled in her work area toward the back of the room.

Although she is an artist herself, Van Dyke is modest about her accomplishments and doesn’t sell her work, instead donating it for fundraisers or g...