AHEAD of Cumbria hosting the major Lakes International Comic Art Festival this autumn, a cartoon-themed exhibition has opened in the region.

The Beach Hut Gallery, based at Kents Bank Station, in Grange, has welcomed Paper Capers, which is on display until Sunday October 1

This exhibition features the work of Fionn Jordan, John Pepper, Gina Quant, Jackie Smith and Geoff Waterhouse.

Fionn, describes himself as a " freelance illustrator and mythology sleuth". He is often inspired by sights and stories from the Far East, taking what he sees and hears on his travels and puts them into his own world.

John Pepper was 16 when he had his first drawings published in Southampton's Daily Echo, and he has since contributed cartoons to the Guardian and the Times newspapers.

Gina Quant, who lives outside Sheffield, originally trained in archaeology but has always drawn as a hobby. She says: "I have just started sending my cartoons off to see if they catch an editor's eye."

Jackie Smith currently has work on show in a London exhibition called The Inking Woman, a retrospective of women cartoonists from suffragettes to the present day.

And finally, Geoff Waterhouse has contributed to several of the UK's leading humour magazines, including Punch. He says that as a cartoonist he is "selling an idea or a whimsical thought rather than a drawing" and that over the years he has developed a minimalistic style, as often a drawing is made more effective by what is left out.

The artwork on show promises to be diverse, entertaining and extremely accomplished.

The Beach Hut Gallery will be open Wednesday to Sunday this week, from 10.30am to 5pm, and then Thursday to Sunday throughout September.