73a art back on museum West Wall

The art was produced by service users at the centre from both the regular Wednesday art session led by facilitator Mervyn Cobbold, and the digital art group which has its get-together on Tuesdays.

The work on display therefore has a wide range of subject matter and style, from bold and colourful parrots to a beautiful and moody snowy river scene, and a remote cottage set against a backdrop of misty mountains.

Spokesman Andrew Voyce of 73a said: "We had our exhibitions here at the museum before the refurbishment, and this year we are delighted to be back here, and think they have done a really good job. It is really great to see the motoring exhibits, and the costume exhibits as well.

"And it's great to be back on the West Wall.

"It's always a kick for any artist to see his or her work on display on a wall - and it never dulls. It is a great feeling to see your work up, and other people looking at it. I think all the artists who have work here feel very proud at seeing their work displayed.

"With the digital art each artist has their own individual style. We all progress and we help each other - we are really a self-help group, we don't really have a leader or facilitator. We just meet at the centre on Tuesdays and get the computers out and do whatever we want to do. That can be doing artwork inspired by other artists' work from books, or from posters or anything that's printed, wherever people find their inspiration. We can manipulate images and make their our own, or just do things out of our heads. That is how we go on - and we help each other. If we come to a point where we can't go on any further we just help each other and on it goes."

A private view of the work was held at Bexhill Museum and attended by Town Mayor Councillor Bridget George as well as Rother District Council chief executive Derek Stephens, Megan Traice and Cllr Paul Lendon.

Mervyn Cobbold commented of the art group: "Everybody paints mainly with acrylic, and we do a lot of original stuff as well as working from the books people bring in. Mainly I just want to help them do what they want to do. They start bringing stuff in, such as photographs and pictures, and it grows on them...it is very therapeutic, painting. The more they do, the more they get into it."