ONE of the region's newest galleries is pulling in art lovers for an evocative exhibition by Penrith-based artist Maria Burton.

The Gaddum, at Brockhole - which is named after William Gaddum, a silk merchant, who built and lived in Brockhole in 1899, together with his wife Edith, a double cousin of Beatrix Potter, and their children - is part of the popular Brockhole, the Lake District Visitor Centre.

Maria's work is mainly landscape focused although in there's a few animal images in the creative mix.

Working in both oil and acrylic, Maria's paintings have an almost Turner-esque quality, capturing the light and the atmosphere of the earth with a quality that revokes memories of other impressionist works.

Maria says it is a "privilege" to exhibit at The Gaddum, which conveys the beauty and drama of landscape and wildlife.

"It's the perfect day out: original art set in a beautiful gallery overlooking Windermere, a scrumptious lunch in the Gaddum Restaurant among Arts and Crafts surroundings and a stroll through the gardens to the lake shore."

For Maria, painting is about a connection and an expression. The work is personal, borne of experience. It moves beyond the obvious and is something that she hopes the viewer will recognise in their own way. Nothing is more of a privilege than when a stranger connects with a piece. Sometimes, it about us, a celebration of life and sometimes about the natural world, wild weather, a moment in dramatic landscape and beauty.

Maria explains that Moment is her most significant exhibition to date. Working mainly from sketches with support material from photography, Maria morphs what she sees either on location or back in the studio in Penrith. This metamorphosis may attempt to catch a second, several minutes, hours or even years of experience in an energy filled work.

Wherever possible, Maria likes to visit the location she's painting a number of times or indeed observe the wildlife at some length in order to understand its nuances, its changes, its habits and behaviour. She has an innate fascination with the outside world in particular and with painting and, in awe of the majesty of fells and mountains, these often provide the stage for atmospheric skies to dance around.

Moments runs at the Gaddum Gallery until October 18.