THE only elements that are absolutely assured about the Small Picture Show are the date of showing, the venue, and the price of the work. Everything else is as disparate as could be in terms of subject matter, style, scale, size and medium.
Artists who regularly show their paintings at The White Lion Street Gallery in Tenby were invited to produce new work for a special mixed exhibition, which started on November 1. The only stipulations were that the work must be £300 or less.
The result is, not surprisingly, an exciting representation of the artistic interests and achievements of many artists of the area and further afield, all in one place.
For those who like their artwork to be calm, assured and realistic, see the watercolours of Graham Hadlow and Jane Read, the oils of Thomas Haskett and Chris Chalk and the pinpoint accuracy of Carole Jury's still lifes.
More abstract interpretations of the landscape are offered by Andie Clay, Helen Barrack and Matt Forster, tipping into the worlds of myth, mystery and imagination with Colin Finn, Elizabeth Haines and Glenn Ibbitson.
Printmakers Carole King, Philippa Sibert, Hilary Paynter, Trevor Haddrell, Ann Lewis and Judith Stroud have contributed a huge range of work to include, landscape, political comment, cats and frogs, flowers and gardens...and the skilful work of Batik artist Rhona Tooze has a flavour of Swansea in its street scenes.
Too many to mention, artists have produced work in pastel and collage, in the formats of cartoons and stained glass, in naive styles and traditional oil painting.
Landscapes of Pembrokeshire, from the wide views of Tina Lewis to the intimacy of John Faulkner's cottages and farms, animals - real, naive, painted and printed, including the exuberantly alive cockerels of Penny Timmis, hang with still lives, beach scenes and exquisite abstract pieces.
Among the artists represented here are elected members of the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers, the Royal Cambrian Academy and the Society of Women Artists. Many of them have exhibited in the Mall Galleries in London and in the Royal Academy Summer Shows. The quality is high, but the prices are low.
The exhibition, The Small Picture Show, at The White Lion Street Gallery, next to the old cinema in Tenby and continues until 28th. The gallery is open from 10 am to 5 pm every day except for Wednesdays and Sundays. The entire exhibition can be viewed on the gallery website: http://www.artmatters.co.uk">www.artmatters.co.uk For further information, telephone (01834) 843375.