- Neil Beardmore

The fourth annual exhibition of paintings by Neil Beardmore brings a profusion of colour in an exciting abstract show.

Having moved form the representational, Neil has fallen under the spell of Rothko and - through the suggestion of a close friend - sought out Howard Hodgkin, the cream of British abstract artists.

Influences of both these artists, along with Turner's late works, and Monet's late paintings, can be seen in several of the works.

We move from the dark and sinister framed acrylics on heavy cotton paper, with their furnaces of yellows and oranges and reds burning out with optimistic fire, to canvases that echo a variety of landscapes without the land, as it were - with nothing representationally obvious - and the viewer is drawn into a surfeit of blended colours and shapes that compliment the eye.

Some of the smaller framed paintings in gouache are no less striking in their cocky demands of the viewer with their rich colours quickly attracting us.

Although none of the paintings are titled (the artist leaves that to us - that's our active part of the creation), Neil imagines one of them with the title: 'I get misty just holding your hand,' from the song: 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.' and challenges you to search for it yourself. Which would you guess it is? Come and meet Neil most Saturdays at the gallery, find out and enjoy the silent healing of colour in InnerScapes, Neil's fourth major exhibition over the last three years.