AN ARTIST whose work has been enjoyed by Hampshire people during his annual open studio in Winchester has been elected to a prestigious society.

Keith Bennett has been elected as a member of the prestigious Pastel Society following their Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London where he had three selected pictures on display during July.

Many Hampshire people have his paintings and his annual August Open Studio in Winchester has always been a popular event.

He paints landscapes and portraits in various media but pastels have always been his favourite means of expression following on from his love of drawing and his original background as an architect.

"I am so fortunate to have an interest during Lockdown" he says, when he has been working on a series of landscapes of the Itchen River.

The first painting he ever exhibited was hung in the Winchester Art Club annual exhibition in the Guildhall in the 1980 's where he also had his first solo exhibition in 1986 and his pastels in the Art Club have been very popular and award winning over many years.