Antipodean artist sheds light on the beauties of Yorkshire

Doesn’t feel right, does it?

However, it is a visitor from a land down under who has helped turn a spotlight on to some of the most beautiful parts of our region – and show them to us in a different light.

Mark Sofilas moved to Leeds from his native Australia three years ago and since then has travelled the Broad Acres finding inspiration almost everywhere he goes. Sofilas, who worked in advertising in Australia as an illustrator and designer, has found the easel coming out with surprising regularity since his move to England, so much so that he is now preparing for his first solo exhibition.

First Impressions is being staged at Art in the Mill at Knaresborough June 3 to July 15. Andrew Grinter, who runs the gallery with his wife Elaine, is delighted to be providing a home for the Australian’s debut solo show in the UK.

“Mark literally wandered in one day,” he says. “He was a fan of Knaresborough and used to come here regularly to actually paint scenes around the town, so it seemed right that he would have his first solo show at a gallery in the town.”

Sofilas appears to be proving the adage that it takes a stranger to make you really appreciate what you have – his paintings of scenes around Yorkshire show off the beauty of the region.

“As soon as we saw his work we knew we wanted to work with him,” says Grinter. “It is his use of light that is really exceptional; he sees things in the landscape that we might miss.”

Mark Sofilas, First Impressions, Art in the Mill, Knaresborough, June 3 to July 15. 01423 862963, www.artinthemill.co.uk