The title Spirit of Nature is a marvellous way of summing up what could be one of the region's best wildlife and landscape exhibitions of the year.

Being staged at Silverdale's treasured Wolf House Gallery by owners Colin and Sandra Bellinger - who took over from Denise and Ted Dowbiggin early last year - the show features five outstanding artists: painters Marianne Birkby, Geoff Taylor, Phillip Allder and Catherine Hones, plus sculptor Karen Trower.

Marianne grew up in the Rusland Valley, studied illustration in Blackpool and later worked in London, before making her way back to Cumbria. When the Rusland Beeches faced the axe, Marianne sparked a passionate campaign to save her beloved trees.

As well as pursuing her own career, the illustrator runs BB Design with her husband, designer Paul Bennett.

Phillip Allder is another well-known Cumbrian painter. Breathtaking landscapes and wildlife images have pushed his work to the forefront of the genre.

Among his accolades he landed a silver medal at the 1999 London Zoo exhibition, best in show at the sixth annual Wildlife Botanical Exhibition and, in January, came away with the Public Vote Trophy at the Wildlife Art Society (TWAS) Northern.

Meanwhile, the local landscapes of Catherine Hones are bound to win her even more fans.

A native of the Cotswold town of Moreton in Marsh, she moved to a house on the shores of Morecambe Bay in 1980. One of her many commissions included peregrine falcon illustrations for Settle Falconry used on tourist information boards.

Sculptor Karen Trower's work is described as innovative, unique and tactile and I'm told, alone, is well-worth a trip to Silverdale to see.

Last, but certainly not least, I mention the stunning art of Geoff Taylor. Renowned for his pictorial ventures in the world of wolves and a passionate wildlife conservationist, Geoff was inspired by the prose and poem of Jerome Mercier's 14th century account The Last Wolf.

He has created magical covers for Tolkien's Lord of the Rings classics, and others such as Raymond E. Feist, Robert Holdstock and Stephen Donaldson. His first commission in 1976 was for the cover of Counter Clock World penned by one of the kings of science fiction, the legendary Philip K. Dick.

Born in Lancaster in 1946, Geoff was educated at Eckington Westfield School. A three-year graphic design course at Chesterfield College of Art followed.

He became an ad man in the heady world of advertising but became disillusioned by the industry and fled "the intensity of the city", eventually arriving in Arnside.

The gallery is open daily 10.30am-5.30pm, except Monday. For further details contact 01524-701405.

April 10, 2003 10:31