An artist who combined her creative talent with a successful dentistry career has a busy summer ahead, with an exhibition and a festival in the diary.

Hilary Warren, who founded the Poundbury Dental Practice before retiring to concentrate on canvases rather than cavities, will, with her husband Tim, be bringing back Chesil Rocks festival at their home in Langton Herring near Weymouth, the eighth iteration of the popular music and art festival, with proceeds to Dorset Samaritans.

The event, on Saturday, June 23, will come hot on the heels of an exhibition of Hilary's work, as part of Dorset Art Weeks between Saturday, May 26, and Sunday, June 10. The exhibition, entitled 'Coastal Nautical Nature', will also be held at the Warrens' home.

The exhibition will see displays of watercolour and oil paintings portraying coastal scenes and still lifes, - Hilary has lately been honing her technique at the Abbotsbury studio of artist and teacher John Meaker.

While still at school, Hilary, from Leeds, studied at Harrogate College of Art, before moving into dentistry - at the behest, she says, of her family, who wanted to ensure she had a stable career.

She moved to Dorset in 1983 and founded her Poundbury practice in 2004, using the space to combine her twin talents by hanging her watercolours in the practice to the plaudits of patients. "It was better than having posters which people just ignored," she recounted. "It made my patients more relaxed."

A number of the works are now displayed at Strathmore House in Poundbury.

Hilary was also a member of Chesil Art, a five-artist group that held joint exhibitions in the Chesil Bank area between 1995 and 2000, and has a long-standing passion for the colours, vibrancy and people of the Caribbean; since 2005 her bright oils of island life have hung at the Gallery of Caribbean Art in Barbados.

Since retiring from dentistry and selling her practice in 2016, the artist has branched out into other media and subjects, including iPad sketches, seascapes, landscapes, life drawing, flora and textile designs.

This year's Chesil Rocks festival has an exciting and diverse line-up, including last year's hit the London Gay Men's Chorus, The Leylines and Million Dollar Bash. Hilary said she was looking forward to the most successful festival yet, with, for the first time, a marquee for guests to move into in the event of rain or cold weather.

"It's about getting some great performances, and giving back to the community and the Dorset Samaritans," she said.

You can see more of Hilary’s work on Instagram at hilarywarrenart, or contact her on hilarywarrensimmons@gmail.com.

For more information about Chesil Rocks festival or Dorset Art Weeks, visit https://www.facebook.com/Chesilrocks/ and https://www.dorsetartweeks.co.uk/.