TWO new exhibitions at Malvern Theatres demonstrate the contrasting styles of Suzanna Reynolds and Allison Neal.

Suzanna Reynolds exhibits all over the country, from Yorkshire to St Ives, but has not previously shown her work in Malvern, although she has lived here for five years.

Originally from Scotland, she has been painting professionally since the early 1980s and uses intense colour in her abstract landscapes. Her style changed during a year in the Himalayas.

"It was very lively and active and became more contemplative. I developed a sense of stillness," she said.

Suzanna was drawn to Malvern by the hills, which inspire her paintings in oils and pastels.

Allison Neal is the former head of the School of Arts and Crafts at Malvern Hills College and now teaches at Herefordshire College of Art and Design. Her work has changed considerably since she last exhibited here, prompted by seeing the Richard Alston Contemporary Dance Company at Malvern about three years ago.

Impressed by the dance movements, she found herself drawing them the next day and realised she could produce the work she wanted from imagination and memory. Now her drawings explore memory and relationships, providing visual images to prompt responses in the onlooker.

"They are all in charcoal or pencil. I keep meaning to do something in colour but then I get involved in the drawing," she said.

The pair's work will be on show until June 30.