An artist hopes his new exhibition will inspire more people to pick up a paint brush as a form or relaxation and therapy.
Landscape artist, Clive McCarthy, will be showing his work at the Newark Town Hall’s Spotlight Gallery until June 8.
‘Colour, texture, light’ is a series of recent oil paintings which feel as dramatic as they are beautiful, with their impressionist influences.
Originally brought up in Germany in a military family, Clive has spent much of his life in the Midlands after moving to Gainsborough as a child.
He said: “I mostly work in landscape and seascapes and a big theme you’ll notice is skies.
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“I’ve always found skies fascinating, because the weather can be so powerful dramatic — you’ve got to work with what you’ve got, but you can show so much emotion.
“My big love was always Turner, I looked at his stuff because he was a real technician and even the impressionists looked at him too, so you can see a lot of his influences in my work.
“I’ve always travelled quite a bit across England Scotland and Wales, and anywhere that looks right to me I’ll sit and put down a painting.”
Clive also said he greatly admired the work of Newark-born artist William Nicolson, and wanted to take the opportunity to exhibit alongside many of his works of art which are displayed at the town hall museum.
He added: “Painting is quite therapeutic and mentally cathartic.
“I left my job at a university because I fell ill and had a bit of a health scare, so I decided to take the opportunity and ramp up my painting.
“I think people should draw and paint a lot more and get off their devices.
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“When you’ve had a near death experience you start to look at nature in a different way and appreciate it much more.”
The artist also took a course in art conservation, learning techniques to refurbish and repair old paintings which he credits with expanding his knowledge and love of art.
Visitors will have the opportunity to meet Clive at the gallery on Saturday, May 11 from 11am to 1pm, and Saturday, May 18 from 11am to 3pm.
The Spotlight Gallery at Newark Town Hall Museum is open to the public from 10.30am to 1pm between Wednesday and Friday, and from 10am to 3.30pm on Saturdays.
