MALVERN Theatre's exhibitions curator, Humph Hack, has been thinking of great art that really inspired him, while putting together the latest exhibition for the venue.

Humph said: "Inspiration comes from many sources; and often it is the work of great artists from the past. Such an artist is Graham Sutherland; perhaps best known for the huge Coventry Cathedral Tapestry or the portrait of Winston Churchill which his wife destroyed because she found it “too honest”.

"In 1934 Sutherland visited Pembrokeshire for the first time and was profoundly moved by its landscape, and the region remained a source of inspiration for his paintings for much of the following decade. It was in 1958 that I watched a BBC TV programme about Sutherland’s work. It inspired me to train as a fine artist. His early works from the same period are a major influence of the paintings of Mark Masters; and so it is my great pleasure that Mark has agreed to show his most recent work in Malvern Theatres."

Humph added: "He shares Sutherland’s interest in natural forms in juxtaposition with man-made elements. In the same way, the resulting images are highly evocative. Mark focuses on the inherent strangeness of natural forms, abstracting them to sometimes give his work a surrealist appearance."

Another artist exhibiting has a keen eye for anatomical form.

Hump said: "Jeanette Falkner Clarke loves horses and her understanding of their anatomy and temperament shines out of every work she has included in this new exhibition. Like many artists who hone their skills on one subject matter, her technique continues to develop, so that these works are a step on from those she showed in her previous exhibition in the theatre."

Artist Jools Lawley is no stranger to Malvern Theatres.

Humph said: "Her calligraphic style renderings of men women and children always produce a smile."