Art exhibition for Cublington artist's portrait of the village

An artist, who took on a project to create portraits of all the residents in Cublington, will be showcasing some of his work at an art exhibition next week.

Martyn Gates, 57, of Cublington, embarked on a project to depict the village where he has lived with his wife Avril and daughter Saskia, since 1990.

The exhibition marks the first stage of the Portrait Of Cublington, there will be more than 60 portraits and a number of large scale landscapes on show.

He said: “There are still more portraits to do but this is the first stage of the village portrait.

A portrait of the church by Martyn Gates

“I am showing in all three gallery rooms, it is good to be able to show people what I have done so far.

“It is like sitting back and reflecting, it is a progression project and I look forward to doing more work.”

The artist used different mediums to create the paintings including oil paint, acrylic paint, charcoal and ink.

The social commentary of the village is not just about the people living in the village, Martyn also created portraits of events that took place and the landscape and buildings.

A portrait of one of the villagers by Martyn Gates

He added: “It is a reflection of local village life, there are portraits of the summer fete and the lunches, as well as the church.”

The exhibition is from Monday, February 22, till Friday, March 4, at Queens Park Arts Centre, Aylesbury.