ILLUSTRATOR and reportage artist Sophie Martin has a show of pen and watercolour paintings of the local area running at Wilf's cafe in Staveley until mid July. Sophie’s work also features some of my animal drawings and illustrations from her latest and fourth book I love/hate my Campervan.

A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art where she studied illustration, the Cumbrian-born artist has already produced Threatened Post Offices of Rural Cumbria - a handmade limited edition book - and A day in the life of Selside School, which was commissioned by school.

Sophie said that drawing on location was essential to her artwork, which was all about capturing immediate impressions of places, people and situations. She added: “I like to complete each drawing in one sitting if possible to really capture the immediacy of the fleeting moment. My inspiration comes from the world around me, whether it be from new and inspiring places or from keenly observing the apparently ordinary and familiar in everyday situations.”