THE star of a Thirsk exhibition is looking further afield and has already inspired interest in his work among American buyers.

Colin Britton has an exhibition of watercolour paintings on show at the Zillah Bell Contemporary Art Gallery, but the architect at North Yorkshire County Council has also interested American tourists and others.

He said: "I have sold paintings to a couple from Seattle who asked me to paint all of Yorkshire's ruined abbeys, and my work is held in public and private collections, some in Canada and America."

The 57-year-old, of Front Street, Sowerby, also has paintings on show in Castle Howard.

Love of drawing from childhood saw him graduate as an architect from Kingston upon Thames College of Art. Then, 26 years ago, he started painting watercolours seriously and drew fun caricatures of fellow workers.

His latest exhibition is entitled Land, Sea and Light at the gallery in Kirkgate, Thirsk.

"I've always done it, but I really started in the early 1980s when we moved up to North Yorkshire where there's lovely scenery. I did a lot of walking, so there had to be a place in the exhibition for the Dales, mainly Swaledale which I love, plus places on the coast, like Scarbrough and Whitby," he said.

Mr Britton's technique is to use mainly watercolours but on papers and with different paints to get different effects. He is inspired by great watercolourists of the past such as Turner.

His work has been shown at London's Mall Galleries and at the Stonegate Gallery, and closer to home, the Zillah Bell invites him to show work every few years.

Ten years ago, Simon Howard approached him and bought some of his paintings for show at Castle Howard.

It was at the Zillah Bell that a couple of American visitors, John Ellison and his wife, Lesley Link, who were in Thirsk on a trip to trace family roots, were so impressed that they commissioned, Mr Britton to paint everyone of Yorkshire's ruined abbeys.

He is now moving in a new direction and trying his hand at snow scenes.

He was the winner in 1988 of the Silver Longbow Art Competition, a regional art contest held in Darlington, and has painted coast scenes as far north as Holy Island.

His wife, Alison, is an art teacher at Thirsk Secondary School, their son, Barney, is studying photography at Durham University and daughter Ella is doing a degree in graphic art at Edinburgh University. The whole family has exhibited together at the Zillah Bell.

Land, Sea and Light continues until Saturday, May 28.

Ian Nobl