Emma Dunbar will be exhibiting a brand new collection of work in a solo show at Beside The Wave this summer.

Well known and much admired for her bold and colourful paintings, Emma's latest body of work contains some wonderful depictions of some of Cornwall's most recognisable aspects; rolling fields and hills dotted with ice cream coloured cottages, harbours full of bright fishing boats and tangled nets and an unusual diptych of the iconic St Michael's Mount.

Her distinctive style has developed over the last year into a more 'painterly', less planned, approach to her compositions.

Still present is the confident and masterful use of colour and the familiar still life motifs; jugs of richly coloured anemones, worn striped pebbles and silver skinned mackerel but there is also a subtle shift towards more representation of the essence of being out of doors as opposed to being on the inside looking out. Emma has made a deliberate move towards simplifying and editing her compositions, leaving more space for the landscape whilst still creating a distillation of her particular experience of a place. Personal elements are retained in the figure of a Pointer enjoying his tramp through the countryside, a quirky sign that caused amusement on a day trip or an imperious looking tabby cat on a windowsill.

The physical qualities of paint have always been of the utmost importance to Emma's work. She works primarily with acrylic and has a well practised eye for placing it in a way that makes the surface of a composition sing; just the right shade and quantity of orange next to a sea of the most intense turquoise or the richest red next to startling fuchsia pink. In the piece 'Orange Trawler' an almost entirely green composition is bisected by a vivid swish of bright orange paint. In another, 'Blue and green boxes on Boats', a similar play of colour is employed in a slightly more abstract manner. Thick blocks of textured colour occupy the bottom third of the painting echoing the depiction of boats above. Areas of crimson red punctuate the painting leading the eye across the composition.

The importance and variety of mark making is a legacy from Emma's early training as a printmaker. She layers colour on top of colour, intending that the top surface is to be scratched and rubbed back to reveal the underlying colour. Thick brush strokes of paint sit side by side with spider like scratches made with an etching tool, smooth plains of colour end abruptly with knife sharp edges created by the application of masking tape and fluid against misty washes of paint diluted with drips and splashes of water. Textured found materials and objects are pressed on to the surface of the painted board to remove still wet paint and reveal patterns of underlying colour. Emma is also happy to occasionally allow the media she uses to influence the composition of a piece, exploiting the event of a 'happy accident' to her advantage.

In addition to the painted surface, collage is a medium Emma has always utilised as a compositional tool in her work, but this collection will include unusual pieces in which she has used it as a medium of expression in its own right to articulate her ideas.

These collages will make up a part of the collection comprising approximately 40 paintings, all of which are sure to delight collectors and new comers alike. They will be available to view on the gallery website from 3rd July.

To receive a catalogue of paintings or more information about the exhibition please contact Beside the Wave gallery@beside-the-wave.co.uk or (01326) 211132. Catalogue paintings will be available to view on the gallery website www.beside-the-wave.co.uk a week prior to the exhibition, with the full collection of work available to view on the gallery website from 3rd July.