ARRANGING Patches of Colour is an exhibition of paintings by Eden-based artist David Boyd.

Running in the Dawson Gallery of Coniston's Ruskin Museum, the exhibition's title is inspired by a quote from the great Victorian himself, John Ruskin: “Everything that you can see in the world around you presents itself to your eyes only as an arrangement of patches of different colours.”

Featuring more than 25 different works, the show focuses on David's latest paintings and drawings, including new plein air paintings of the Eden Valley, north Lakes and Pennine landscapes. These sit alongside a new series of studio paintings of animals and birds, all oversized and corpulent, with farm animals positioned on to David’s landscapes with little regard to scale or perspective, even appearing to stand on small rural houses.

David says that the series is inspired by early 19th century British rural art: "It was a time when a farmer’s hottest status symbol would be a proud profile portrait of a champion cow or tup and the livestock looked surprisingly geometric. I’ve tried to interpret that from today’s perspective."

In contrast to the landscapes and animal paintings, Arranging Patches of Colour also features a selection of café culture-inspired pieces. "I enjoy drawing people when I’m out and about," explains David. "And I try to capture this modern day interior landscape, depicting people on their mobile phones and tablets or smokers outside a cafe window. It’s something we all see all the time but I am hoping that people might begin to see it differently once they’ve considered the pictures in this exhibition."

Arranging Patches of Colour runs until Sunday, August 4. For further information telephone the Ruskin Museum on 015394-41164.

The museum is open daily from 10am-5pm.