A group of amateur artists from Wearside are preparing to give us a taste of the summer months with their first major exhibition, as MARISSA CARRUTHERS discovered.

The warm weather may well be over, but not for a group of artists whose latest exhibition celebrates the fruits of summer.

Silksworth Art Group has been busy recreating the delights of summer with their sketches and paintings of allotments.

And now the fruits of the group of 31 pensioners' labours is on display at the Customs House Sandford Goudie Gallery.

Group leader Sylvia Hirst, of Thorney Close, said: "The theme for the project was allotments, which was quite a difficult subject to take on, but we all managed and there is some lovely work here too."



Using acrylic, pastels, watercolour and other paints, the exhibition boasts 36 pictures harking back to the summer months.

With drawings of fruit and vegetables, greenhouses, pigeon fanciers, water butts, wheelbarrows and gardeners, summer is brought back to life in the South Shields gallery.



And this is the first time the group has collectively had its work displayed in a public gallery.

"This is the first exhibition we've had on this scale," Sylvia said. "It's quite exciting and a good boost as usually the gallery has contemporary art and nothing to do with what we do.

"Our club is really a leisure club. It's a group of people aged between 60 and 83 who get together to have a chat, a cup of coffee and make a mess."

Silksworth Art Group's work can be seen at the Sandford Goudie Gallery at the Customs House, South Shields.