IF you peeped through the ancient door of the Reader’s House recently you may have been surprised to catch a glimpse of an artist, palette in hand, perched in the porch looking through the building and towards the garden beyond. Working in gouache, Matthew Wood paints in situ and for this exhibition has been making studies inside Castle Lodge (on the corner of Castle Square and Mill Street) as well the Reader’s House, next to St. Laurence’s.

The Silk Top Hat now introduces Matthew’s first solo show - In the Blink of an Eye - featuring a series of interiors including Ludlow’s Reader’s House and Castle Lodge, along with a small series of local landscapes around the Welsh borders.

For the last 15 years Matthew has focused his art practice on producing works on location and in one sitting, whether a landscape or an interior. Working from primary observation encourages a method and technique that is both expressive and direct. The challenge of creating a successful painting in sometimes adverse conditions - from rain and snow storm to darkened, late-night or haunted corridor - adds to the experience of the process of painting. All works are produced on board, with the landscapes in oil and interiors in gouache, the dark contrasting tones of the interiors counter-balancing the softer harmonious perspectives used in the landscapes.

The use of perspective and light is a dominant theme in all of the works.The depth and movement within each composition enable the painting to come to life.

Matthew works swiftly, often generating up to four paintings a day, with most done on a small scale for reasons of practicality, especially when working in the landscape and walking considerable distances over mountainous terrain, or when crammed into a corner to obtain a view to a window or through a doorway.

Born in 1973, Matthew graduated from Middlesex University in 1998. He has been based in London and Brussels and now lives with his family in mid Wales. In 2008 he was selected and exhibited in John Moores 25. He has exhibited widely in Wales including Finn y Parc, Oriel Davies Gallery, MOMA Wales and the West Wales Art Centre. More recently he has been artist in residence at Powis Castle in 2014 and Chirk Castle this year and has been invited to produce a body of work for the Capability Brown 300 years festival at Weston Park in 2016.

In the Blink of an Eye runs from Monday, July 6 to Saturday, August 1 at The Silk Top Hat Gallery in Quality Square. Running concurrently is are showcases of work by jewellers Hannah Willow and Elizabeth Terzza.