INDIANAPOLIS — A local artist and his writer wife have taken their work to the big city. Illustrations for a children’s book are on display on the third floor of Saks Fifth Avenue at the Fashion Mall in Indianapolis.

Brown County artist Gabriel Lehman and writer Jamie Kay Lehman hope to gain attention from a publisher while their book, “Paper Airplanes,” is on display.

Jamie had been writing children’s poetry for a few years when she first saw Gabriel’s artwork at a show in Indianapolis in September 2013, according to a press release from the couple. She asked if he would be interested in illustrating some of her poems to create a book that would later be called “Paper Airplanes.” He politely declined at the time, mentioning that he does not illustrate books, the release states.

Gabriel is a self-taught artist and has conceptual dyslexia. He struggles with reading and he was not interested in sorting through a book to see if he liked it enough to want to illustrate. He had been painting for only four years and was focused on his newfound career.

“Jamie persisted and sent samples of her playfully short poems, which quite fit Gabriel’s whimsy and lack of interest in too much reading,” the release states. “Gabriel agreed to a dinner meeting and they barely touched their food. Less than two years later, they were married.”

“Paper Airplanes” is comprised of 68 children’s poems illustrated over 93.3 feet of continuous acrylic sky background, painted across 70 canvases. The project is finished, but not yet published. The couple hopes that with this display, they will attract the eye of a publisher.

Gabriel and Jamie live in Brown County with their three dogs, 15 chickens and “a happy murder of gifting crows.”

People can view the display until June 10 at Saks Fifth Avenue, 8701 Keystone Crossing, Indianapolis.

To view Gabriel Lehman’s artwork, you can visit his website at gabriellehman.com.