In the picturesque setting of St. Michael and All Angels Church, Bosherston, the local Art Group recently held their Annual Exhibition. Inside the area in and around the base of the tower was arranged a range of over 70 pieces of work in various media, from pencil and pen, through watercolour to oil and acrylic, covering a wide field of expression. The quality and compass of the paintings on display was highly commendable and was for sale at very reasonable prices considering the standard achieved.

This group of men and women meet every Friday afternoon during the winter months in Bosherston Church Hall; and during the summer at the Village Hall, St. Twynnells, and though there is no formal instruction, the group have the benefit of advice and assistance from Dudley Jones and Lee Newbury, both accomplished amateur artists.

It was obvious from the variety of work on display and by the level of ability shown that each and every one of the members gain great benefit from putting together line, texture and pattern, light and dark and colour, on a surface, and thus sharing with others their view of the world around them. Couple this with 'imagination' defined as 'the regeneration of perception' and you have 'works of art' regardless of its standard.

As a written sheet attached to the list of paintings also makes plain 'The object of staging an exhibition like this is primarily to show what can be achieved within a small rural community when people get together and have a go'.

Centerpiece of the exhibition was an acrylic painting by Dudley Jones of Bosherston Village in the Snow which was both evocative and atmospheric and which was bordered on each side by two watercolour pieces by Lee Newbury, one of a Puffin with a beak full of fish, 'How Many for Dinner', and a colourful flower study, 'Poppies'. Each of these painters had a number of other well-handled and presented works on display, in Dudley Jones's case 12 works and Lee Newberry eight.

Joyce Jones, wife of Dudley, has over a short while become a very accomplished painter, with her 'St. Govan's Chapel' and 'The Green Bridge of Wales' notable amongst her nine exhibits. Dorothy Dowler, another founder member of the group, had a number of polished works, with 'Snow on Pembroke Castle' and 'Low Tide at East Angle' being foremost in her selection, while Jacky Crossman, a newcomer in this exhibition, with her 'The Hill Farm', showed a promising talent.

Gill Capon-Browning's 'Stackpole Quay', Chris Rees's Stormy Seas', and Eileen Machine's 'Bluebell Wood' were worthy of note, while Malcolm Dryden's 'Old Pembrokeshire Farm' captured a scene fast disappearing.

Barbara Williams, whose work has always featured prominently in this particular exhibition, in her 'Applying a Tilika Mark', a figure study, and 'Autumn in the Woods', an atmospheric seasonal scene amongst her six carefully selected pieces, maintained her previous quality, and her small animal studies in pencil were both charming and well seen.

Two flower studies, one by Ray Prout of 'Purple Hibiscus' and another more decorative 'Pear Flower Pattern' by Leigh Smith, completed what was a rewarding hour or so of viewing.

Dudley Jones, acting as steward at the exhibition, spent his time painting a watercolour of 'The Green Bridge of Wales' seated in one of the pews which was to be auctioned at the end of the exhibition, with the proceeds going to church funds, a very thoughtful and worthy gesture.

George Lewis