AN EXHIBITION opens later this month in Shipley to showcase artwork by 10 local professional artists, who are all self-taught.

It has been organised by Colin Neville, from Silsden, who also curates the regular City Park big screen Not Just Hockney exhibitions as well as the website of the same name.

The latest exhibition, Self-Taught, aims to showcase and celebrate the work of local artists from across the district.

Examples include Danny Abraham’s nostalgia paintings, which are already in high demand, and Ben Snowden’s abstract work which was recently selected to be part of The Priseman Seabrook Collection of 21st Century British Painting.

The exhibition will be held at Shipley Library, From Saturday, May 26, to Saturday, June 9.

Mr Neville said: “I organised this exhibition because I admire the independence, as well as the talent, of these artists.

“Most professional artists attend art college and this can be useful to learn new techniques, gain confidence and to tap into a network of other artists. However, not everyone can afford to do this, or may prefer to go it alone to develop a particular style.

“All the artists have been successful in other spheres of work, including engineering, archaeology, nursing, and housing, but have always painted and chose at a particular turning point in their lives to take the risk of going freelance.”

Traditional, abstract and semi-abstract artwork will be on display with most of it for sale via Shipley Library.

There will also be a drop-in ‘Meet the Artists’ session on Saturday, June 2, between 11am and 1pm at the library.

The artists included in the exhibition are:

Danny Abrahams, a Bradford artist, who paints predominantly in oils on canvas;

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Wilsden artist Catherine Bartle, who is known for her watercolours, but uses other mediums, such as acrylics;

Haworth-based painter George Bowden, who features the local countryside in his landscape artwork;

Marilyn Brophy, a Saltaire-based painter and printmaker who works predominantly in oil and acrylics;

Jules Hammond, a Bingley-based painter, illustrator, and interior design consultant, who uses acrylic and oils, mixed media, and pencil illustration;

Ian Middleton, who has a studio at Burley in Wharfedale and specialises in colourful abstract expressionism;

Steven Short, who is based in Baildon and works mainly in oils, acrylics, pastels and inks;

Ben Snowden, whose drawings and paintings of Keighley are influenced by the human form and landscape;

David Starley, a Saltaire painter who works in oils, applied thickly to produce a three-dimensional effect;

Lisa Vallo, a Bingley-based abstract artist.

For more information, visit notjusthockney.info.