Rivers and waterways have been a regular subject for atmospheric painter Benjamin Warner. After the sell out show of Venice paintings last year at Beside the Wave, for this year's exhibition, Benjamin has expanded the concept of cities as seen from their main waterways to include not only Venetian canals but London from the Thames and Paris from the river Seine. There is also a special group of five paintings of Falmouth as viewed from the docks when the tall ships were moored there in September 2008.

Returning to the canals of Venice was very natural for Benjamin as the success of his last show proved. It is a city that changes mood with the seasons and this of course played into his hands, as the grey misty weather was perfect for his monochrome palette and atmospheric approach to painting.

James McNeil Whistler is a big influence on Benjamin as an artist and as well as being famous for his depictions of Venice, Benjamin has followed in the master etcher's footsteps by tackling another great waterway, the river Thames. The big difference for Benjamin is that the London Eye has afforded him an opportunity to view the city and the meandering route the river takes from over 400 feet high in the air, a position Whistler would have probably been most envious of.

Benjamin still mainly chooses to paint his subject either in the very early morning - at dawn, or at the end of the day - at dusk. This creates interesting lighting for his subject frequently polarising the range of colours he can use. Benjamin has in the past kept the tonal range of his colours very close, in this collection of works however he has begun to heighten the contrast between light and dark. He achieves this in several ways.

In his Thames paintings, he has used the artificial streetlights, car headlights and lights from office buildings as a warm yellow light, which contrast with the grey of the river and sky. This yellow light is reflected in the silver surface of the river and adds overall warmth to Benjamin's paintings.

In his depictions of the city of romance, Benjamin paints Paris from the banks of the river Seine where he uses the contrast of reflected light from the sky on the river with the dark silhouetted buildings on its banks.

With thirteen paintings of the Thames and thirteen paintings of The Seine in this exhibition, it offers a great opportunity for collectors to see an even wider range of this fascinating young painter's skills.

Benjamin's paintings of Falmouth during the tall ships week are also very different from many other images of this event as he made a special effort to get down to the docks and see them before the sun was up. This created a very special lighting effect, which this highly talented artist has captured and made his own.

What never fails to impress Benjamin's audience, is the richness of the surface of his paintings especially those on board, where he spends months building up layers then sanding them back and repeating this process many times. This not only gives the paintings a sense of their own history but also of the history of the places they illustrate.

To receive a catalogue of paintings or more information about the exhibition please contact Beside the Wave via email: gallery@beside-the-wave.co.uk or phone (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 6th February.

Cath Wallace