A LOCAL artist is exhibiting her work and raising money for the community at the same time.

Jennie Petersen is returning to The Theatre Gallery in Chipping Norton with her new exhibition called As I Get Older from next week.

It comprises a colourful collection of abstract paintings and batiks and ten per cent of profits from sales during the exhibition will go towards the new children's play area planned for her home town of Moreton.

Jennie was widowed in 1992 and moved to the Cotswolds from London in 1994.

Before she retired, she worked as a nurse, a teacher, and an education inspector.

She was offered a place at art school when she left school but circumstances at the time meant she chose a different career path.

She retired early due to mobility problems and then she began to concentrate more on her art work.

She has staged a previous exhibition at The Theatre, which mainly included batik pieces but unfortunately an arthritic joint in her wrist has meant close stitching is a long and painful process.

So, instead, she has concentrated more on her paintings and her new exhibition reflects her renewed interest in the art form.

She said: "It's a privilege to be able to name and plan an exhibition on the theme of getting older. In light of all the violence, hardship, hunger and poverty in the world, for many people around the globe, the average lifespan is considerably less than my present age of 69 years."

Theatre spokeswoman Rebecca de la Bedoyere said: "As I Get Older includes a wide variety of work that demonstrates a vibrant use of colour, a creative use of mixed media and a tendency to abstract the objects she finds in her world."