THE latest exhibition at Ilminster Arts Centre does exactly what it says on the tin – bringing together three painters and a sculptor who are showing their work together for the first time. Tree painters and a sculptor brings together four artists, who based in Somerset and Devon, each bring a deeply personal interpretation to a range of subjects including still lives, landscapes, and studies of human and animal figures.

A graduate of Reigate Art School, painter Vanessa Smith works in oils and acrylics, and is particularly interested in exploring the interplay of light and shade.

She says of her work: “I paint what attracts me and whatever the subject, I try to express what moves me.”

Frances Dale turned to painting having studied Medieval History and History of Art, drawing inspiration from her home near the East Devon coast.

She too works in oils and acrylics, and is intrigued by beauty and the metaphysical.

She said: “I love the mystery of a faceless figure; what are they thinking, where are they in their journey through life?”

Marion Sawl has been interested in painting since childhood, preferring paintbrushes to dolls.

She was born in Kent but has lived and worked in Devon since 1987.

Although she studied at St Martin’s School of Art, she describes herself as essentially a self-taught artist.

She works in acrylics and watercolours, and her work is represented in many collections at home and abroad.

Somerset sculptor Stephanie Hobhouse works figuratively.

She models her subjects in clay and these are then either fired, or cast in bronze or bronze resin.

Having trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Geneva, and then as a photographer at the Regent Street Polytechnic, she now concentrates on figure modelling, particularly enjoying making child and dog likenesses.

A ‘Meet the Artist’ preview of the exhibition will take place on Sunday, August 28, 3-5pm.

Admission is free and all are welcome.

The exhibition runs until Saturday, September 10.