Shoreham’s Houseboat Artists exhibit at Chichester’s Oxmarket Gallery

Group spokeswoman Gillian Hills said: “As with many artists, lockdown for us has been a creatively productive period and we are now ready to share our work with the public in our second joint exhibition.

“Our first, at Skyway Gallery, Shoreham was a great success, showcasing our very varied work – sculpture, pottery, painting, drawing, various print techniques, textiles, book-making, mosaic and collage.

“We are not confining ourselves to a theme, as every work complements the next, possibly because we are very much in tune with one another.

“This year we are really excited to be exhibiting in the John Rank Gallery at the Oxmaket, a stunning setting to complement our exhibition.”

Gillian added: “We are a mix of professionals and amateurs, a group of friends who met originally at Katie Sollohub’s Creative Journeys classes in Shoreham.

“Some of us live on houseboats on the Adur and on one of these we have been meeting monthly over the past few years, to chat, eat, drink, exchange ideas and sometimes even paint or sketch.

“But that was then.

“For a year now we have been chatting on WhatsApp and showing images of our creations of the week. They could encompass a neo-renaissance marble sculpture or simply a plate of nice-looking scones!

“The icing on the cake has been our Friday night virtual private view on Zoom, complete with glass of wine.

“Sharing our work in this way has been an inspiration, an incentive, and has brought us closer together at a time when we have all needed good friends.”

More details about the Oxmarket are on oxmarket.com.