A LIFELONG fascination with the sea and its iridescent waves has moved to centre stage for Piers Browne this year.

"Maybe I should buy a boat," he mused as he studied the seascapes he has already completed, ranging from a large study of Whitby harbour to Shanklin shore, Isle of Wight.

These, along with others, will be exhibited at the Blake Gallery in York in October. But he has several other exhibitions to prepare for before then, and the hills and trees of Wensleydale continue to provide him with inspiration, even after 29 years.

As the sun sparkled on the snow a few weeks ago, he grabbed his palette and oil paints and was off to capture a magical moment on a moor road.

Then it was back to preparing for an exhibition of his etchings and oils at Godfrey and Watt in Harrogate, entitled For the Love of Light, which opens next weekend (Saturday, March 27, to April 17).

Many of these are based inland, and often give a powerful sense of movement flowing from the way he so expertly captures shades of light gleaming on cloud formations and the ever-changing character of the sky from dawn to dusk.

Even as he ensures that print orders are completed to the high quality he always aspires to, he still pushes himself to the limit exploring new facets of art as he seeks to translate ideas into visual and written forms.

His latest book project is about the love between two Christians, a centurion and a slave girl, in Roman times. He has written 25 poems and created 15 pictures for this project which is providing him with plenty of scope for his romantic imagination.

Another continuing romance in his life is conservation and he supports the Conservation Foundation by giving it the royalties from his book, The Glorious Trees of Great Britain.

The large monochrome etching that he has prepared for this year's Royal Academy Summer Show celebrates the vision of John Evelyn during the reign of Charles II for planting trees and conserving the oaks of England.

This monochrome depicts the great plane trees of Green Park in London as two modern conservationists, David Bellamy and Felix Dennis, walk near a bust of Evelyn.

The 15 years he spent roaming the British Isles and Eire for pictures for his book on trees will be remembered at the major exhibition of his work in the foyer of the National Library at Aberystwyth from May 29 to June 6. This is to help celebrate National Tree Week.

In August he links up with other members of the newly-formed Richmondshire Arts and Crafts Guild for a joint exhibition at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes. Pip Land