Jay and Patricia Constantine have shared all of the perks of marriage. They have a great house in Grand Rapids, Mich. They have two daughters together and work as professors at the same college. But when it comes to their art, the Constantines are quick to point out their differing styles.

“Jay works with oil painting on canvas, I work with charcoal and drawing on paper,” Patricia Constantine said. “We have very different styles.”

They are exhibiting at the Clemens Fine Art Gallery on the West Kentucky Community and Technical College campus this month. While their styles may be different, they admit there have been more similarities in their work than they thought.

“When I was spotting the show, I just kept noticing that our work really complemented each other,” Jay Constantine said. “The colors go together, the works look nice together. I just didn’t realize we were so similar until now.”

It is easy to see how two artists who have been married for 18 years could become more like each other, but for the Constantines, it’s a little harder to figure out.

Patricia teaches drawing at Kendall College of Art and Design, whereas Jay teaches painting on the other side of the building. Patricia’s art is influenced by crime and surrealism, while Jay concentrates on cosmological aspects and size relation. They both work at different times of the day — Patricia prefers to have her gallery time in the morning while Jay is a night owl.

“We critique each other’s work,” Patricia Constantine said. “Maybe that is how it happened. We offer each other tips to help us grow and see things from another’s perspective.”

Critiquing has been part of the Constantines’ relationship since the get-go, when Jay served at Patricia’s art teacher at Kendall. After her graduation, the two kept in touch and when Patricia moved back to Grand Rapids to teach, they fell in love.

Well-known Paducah artist BiLan Liao, a former student of Jay and Patricia’s, worked to bring the Constantines down to Kentucky after several of her students at the Paducah School of Art finished their work and went to Kendall to continue their work. At a reception for the pair on Saturday, they critiqued the work of several students including John Cannon, who was awarded a scholarship to Kendall.

“The support for the arts in this city is spectacular,” Patricia Constantine said. “The reputation that Paducah has, the way that they foster the arts, it was a perfect place to come show our art.”

The reception for Jay and Patricia Constantine’s show will be at 5 p.m. today at the Clemens Fine Art Gallery. It will be up at the gallery through November.