ARTIST Sarah Jane Brown, renowned for her powerful, emotive paintings of the Welsh coast, will exhibit her work at a new gallery in Ross-on-Wye.

Founded by Kathryn Roberts and her daughter Rochelle, Beecher's Gallery opened its doors in Broad Street, last weekend with a curated selection of works called The First Collection.

The paintings by Sarah Jane will join those of other notable artists, including Patrick Cox, Kelvin Okafor, Tina Mammosa and Rodney Beecher Roberts.

Sarah Jane is a passionate artist, and a lover of wild open spaces, big skies and shifting seas, has been on journey of creative expression and personal growth.

Her intuitive, loose and layered style rests somewhere between abstraction and representation and draws inspiration from the coastal landscapes just beyond the studio door.

Sarah Jane has exhibited in many solo and group shows, the highlights of which include prestigious exhibitions with the Royal Cambrian Academy in North Wales, the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the ING Discerning Eye at Mall Galleries in London.

Recently, she featured in Channel 4's TV series, The UK's National Parks with Caroline Quentin,

Sarah Jane said: “Nature can be both diminishing and uplifting, in equal measure. Being in this dramatic environment – with its rocky shores, high cliffs, big skies and unpredictable seas – can be a truly humbling experience.

“One of the things that I try to share through my paintings is that traditional sense of the 'sublime'; awesomely beautiful but also a little overwhelming.

“Yet, despite the slight sense of overwhelm, there is something about being immersed in the vastness of incredible landscapes that gives clarity and focus to the space within us.

“It’s my aim to stir these feelings of wonderment and awe in you, reminding you of your own vitality and life-force, through my artwork.”