HUMPH Hack, curator or exhibitions at Malvern Theatres, talks about a new exhibition, involving three very different artists.

And with so much variety and talent on show, he asks the age-old question, "what makes artists want to paint?"

Humph said: "From the earliest age, toddlers are fascinated by making marks. It is the most natural of all childhood activities, and their interest is spurred by the rest of the extended family applauding their crude attempts at representing Mum, Dad or themselves. Everybody does art in school, but for most people, the activity stops when they leave education."

He added: "For some, it becomes a need which drives them to practice their art further. It may be via a full-time degree course, part-time study or just a gritty determination via self-study: whichever way – they have a need to make people sit up and take notice.

"This is why there is always a queue of artists wanting to exhibit in Malvern Theatres and why artists offered the opportunity to exhibit in this busy artistic hub, need no special encouragement."

Humph said: "It is a pleasure to show the public their fresh new art, rather than it be hidden in a loft, a spare bedroom or stacked in the corner of a studio. They want to see their works displayed well. The three artists showing their works in this new exhibition are a case in point.

"Ray Hill works in a very popular genre. Many artists produce works which evoke the landscape in an almost totally abstract manner. What separates Ray’s works, is the degree of refinement to which he has taken his canvases; inspired partly by the Catalonian landscape, where he spent several months after finishing his degree, and by the area around his studio in Gloucestershire, where it’s “big” skies that inspire him."

Humph said that Sheila Vicker’s paintings could be taken, wrongly, "as mere realistic representations of landscape, animals and the people she loves".

But he added: "It is the richness of her palette and exciting technique which lift them above mere records of places or events. Whenever and wherever possible the process begins outdoors in the landscape. The open air gives her the freedom to experiment with style and colour."

Banu Tillman’s canvases could not be more different. Humph said: "She is both an artist and illustrator. In the works on show here, she evokes a time when her female subjects were suitably aloof. They exhibit grace and ultimate composure. Her portrait and figurative paintings tell a story or convey an emotion with body language. They could be heading for a night out, or a night in, but either way, they do it with style."

The exhibition is open every day from Monday August 22 until Saturday October 8.