A CELEBRATED Dorset artist will be giving a private tour of his landmark exhibition currently on display in Dorchester.

The major exhibition brings together works spanning the sixty-year career of David West at the Dorset County Museum.

‘Under the Surface’ includes his most important works from both private and public collections and aims to reflect his many talents as a painter, sculptor, craftsman and illustrator.

Next month, residents will have the opportunity to join David for a behind the scenes look at the multi-media exhibition and hear the stories behind the objects.

Mark North, of the Dorset County Museum, said the exhibition illustrates the 'progression of interaction' between his use of paint and wood.

He said: “His carved wooden models are full of acute observation and humour, and reflect the strong interest West has in architecture, and the self-contained world within buildings.

“His dolls houses were inspired by watching his daughter’s imaginative play, and the idea that within the basic structure of a house is a place where imagination can be released.”

Some pieces included in the exhibit portray actual houses such as Forde Abbey, in Somerset, and Dorset’s Parnham House which made headlines earlier this year when it was devastated in a suspicious fire.

Later models include a shop and theatre, and Dorset County Museum has also acquired the Spode Set, a miniature theatre carved in wood based on the ‘Spode Italian’ ceramic design.

Born in 1939, David studied painting and printmaking at Camberwell School of Art in the late 1950s but struggled with the emphasis of accuracy in his education.

Throughout the 1960s his work took an unexpected direction as he began to explore flexible ways to construct paintings within a three -dimensional framework, which led naturally on to painting on wood.

Mark said: “West’s move from London to Lyme Regis in 1981 inspired in him a love of the Dorset landscape and coast, and a fascination with the ebb and flow of tides and water.

“This influence can be clearly seen in his work as he began to carve sculptures based on walks along the beach at Lyme Regis. He has taken an active part in life in Lyme Regis, and in the 1990s had a significant role in the restoration of the Town Mill, where there is a room named after him.”

The exhibition, supported by the Mansel-Playdell and Cecil Trust and PGP, will remain at the Museum until January next year.

David will be conducting his private tour from 9am until 10am on Thursday, July 6. Tickets cost £10 per person, available from the museum shop or by calling 01305 756827.