THE landscape of North Yorkshire and Teesdale has provided the inspiration for a solo exhibition by a Richmond artist.

The display of 20 paintings at Darlington's Crown Street gallery in August is the biggest yet by Glenn Beveridge. He hopes it will spark wider interest in his work and lead to exhibitions further afield. Nature to Abstraction opens on Thursday and runs to August 28.

Mr Beveridge, of Sycamore Avenue, has exhibited locally to date, including in a gallery at Barnard Castle and at the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond. His work is also permanently on show at Richmond's Phoenix Gallery.

He is still putting the finishing touches to paintings for the exhibition and was pleased to be offered the chance to show his work in the Darlington gallery.

"It is a wonderful space," he said. "It is difficult for an aspiring artist, who is serious about his work, to get a decent venue." He shared fellow artists' dismay that the gallery was to close later this year.

He described the paintings in the exhibition as semi-abstract landscapes, which sought to combine representation with freedom of expression.

Outdoor painting and sketching on the moors of Swaledale and Whitby provided much of the material.

"For me, drawing is very important," said Mr Beveridge. "Some abstract painters can't draw. If I wanted, I could paint things photographically, but that doesn't express anything of me. An abstract work still has to follow a pattern and have balance and harmony."

He hopes eventually to set up a web site to showcase his work and has plans to build a studio in the garden of the home he shares with his wife, Sarah, and their children aged four and 21 months.