CONTEMPORARY landscapes by Paul Powis form the basis of a new exhibition at the Foalyard Gallery in Bransford.

The Worcester-based artist is a senior lecturer in drawing and painting at the University of Central England and has been published in numerous books and is often commissioned to produce work for covers and posters.

His painting 'Rape' appeared in an advertisement for Volkswagen, being exhibited at the Museum of Modern Illustration in New York, and he has provided work for the Best of British Illustration exhibition for the last ten years.

He has also exhibited at the Mall Galleries, Royal College of Art and the Royal Festival Hall.

Gallery owner Jeremy Cornwall describes his work as having "energy and excitement".

Mr Powis himself said: "My paintings are quickly executed with energy and vivacity in order to retain brushmarks over an impastoed and coloured ground. I'm not at all interested in detail, I like to attack my work with vigorous, almost violent marks and I love accidents and drips.

"My landscapes are frequently painted in either the early morning or the late afternoon in order to capture long shadows raking over fields and hills.

"Although my paintings are representational, they lean towards abstraction using constructional spatial devices in the composition and use of subjective colour to describe space."

The exhibition opens tomorrow (Saturday, April 21) and runs until Saturday, June 2. For more details ring 01886 833337.