COLOURFUL floral paintings and textiles inspired by the River Severn are among the work of two Bewdley artists on display at the Quay Gallery.

Cynthia Pearson and Claire Spencer are exhibiting paintings, drawings and textiles in Severnside North until Saturday, November 26.

Cynthia's work includes drawings and colourful embroidery she has made, based on Dowles Churchyard and the River Severn.

She said: "My recent work was done in Dowles Churchyard. Someone showed it to me in February and it was covered in a carpet of snowdrops. It was really pretty and really quite romantic."

Since moving to Bewdley 12 years ago, Cynthia has also been inspired by the river, she said: "Every time I look at the river it looks different. It is a constant inspiration. I like taking those images and transferring them on to the textile surfaces.

"Sometimes I take photos, sometimes I work directly from the object and sometimes the textiles themselves will give me inspiration."

Cynthia, who trained at Stourbridge College of Art and was a senior lecturer in hand-made textiles at Kidderminster College, said: "Bewdley is such an inspirational place to live. There is the river, the architecture, the forest and countryside and lots of really lovely people."

After retiring from teaching in 1996, she held workshops at Bewdley Museum and later became the visual arts director for Bewdley Festival.

Claire, who trained at Hornsey College of Art and the Royal College of Art, in London, has exhibited work in London and Birmingham as well as at local venues including Bewdley Museum and Kidderminster Library.

She has nine watercolour paintings on display in the Quay Gallery, based on flowers and gardens in the area, including Bewdley's Jubilee Gardens.

They were created during the summer after she visited several private gardens with a group of friends.

Claire, who was an art teacher and is a member of the Kidderminster Arts Society, said: "One of the gardens was an exotic garden with plants that were unusual and very different from the English flowers."

She worked on the flower watercolours in a studio at Bewdley museum using plants from her own garden as inspiration.

"I love colour. Some of the flowers were a lovely shade of purple-blue and I found that really attractive," she said.

The Quay Gallery is open from 11am until 4pm and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.