AN art exhibition depicting the ‘influence the north west had had on a lifetime of painting, printmaking and drawing’ is on display in Cheshire.

Located at the Castle Park Arts Centre in Frodsham, David Atherton’s Drawing Aside the Journey will be on display until early August.

Born and brought up in Northwich, David’s work is described by the centre as: “Using a broad range of media – from pencil to paint, and printmaking to mixed-media – this unique show encompasses twenty years of ‘everyday life’ to show things that have impressed, inspired or fascinated the artist.

“The work explores the themes of landscape, portraiture, social comment and industrial heritage, in intensive, unusual and often humorous ways, inviting the viewer to travel in tandem with him to observe and reflect on our ever-changing world.”

David added: “Having spent 18 formative years in the bustling market town of Northwich – and having noted many changes in it over around 40 more – the show will depict and reflect the influence that the north west has had on a lifetime of painting, printmaking and drawing.”

After moving away from the town, in 2019 David spent more time in Northwich with his mother who was in the last few months of her life, which inspired him to reflect on his time in Cheshire and its importance, saying ‘it made an interesting journey’.

Introducing his exhibition, David stressed how the viewer’s feelings when looking at his work is just as important as his own feelings when creating the pieces.

“I feel that the work should stand up by itself, without the necessity of an information sheet to support it,” he said.

“True, each piece will have a story behind it – a story that the title of the piece will give a clue to and a story that, if pressed, I could easily recall – but there will be other stories, other ideas, feelings and emotions that the viewer may bring to them and that is just as important to me as my own thoughts, if not more so.”

Speaking about his experience in the art industry, David said: “I have always worked in the arts and education.

“As an artist, you can never really afford to live just as an artist and you have another job.

“In my case, I worked in education, but I have always kept doing art in parallel with this.”

Visit castleparkarts.co.uk for more information.