LANDSCAPE artist Ian Shearman was so captivated by the beauty of the Malvern Hills during recent visits to the Three Counties Showground he decided to return and capture them in paint.

The fruits of his labours can be seen in an upcoming exhibition at the Foalyard Gallery, Bransford, starting tomorrow (Saturday) and running for three weeks.

"I never paint to commission," he said.

"I travel all over the place to try and find landscapes that excite me and I find the Malverns tremendously exciting.

"On a day when the light is good, the colours on the hills are fantastic.

"I really love the challenge of representing space and distance, like when you are standing up on top of a hill on a really hot day and you can only see one or two things that suggest distance, dotted here and there."

His studio is in Hyde, near Stroud in Gloucestershire, but he always paints his landscapes from life.

"Working outside can be daunting," he said. "But in most instances it is very pleasurable.

"When I paint, I really try to make you feel you are standing there looking at the view, as though you were seeing it through a window. Sometimes I try to paint photographically, sometimes I'm much more suggestive. It depends on whatever will give the truest impression of the landscape."

Mr Shearman started painting landscapes almost by accident, when he was a sculpture teacher at Cambridge. He tried painting after watching over a colleague's shoulder, and has never looked back since. A professional painter since 1997, he has exhibited all over the country. More information on the exhibition is available from the gallery on 01886 833 337.