An exhibition by a talented Liverpool artist inspired by the rugged North Wales coastline and the iconic waterfront of her home city is wowing visitors to a Snowdonia gallery.

Deborah Butler has put together over 30 canvases of her atmospheric oil landscapes, many of them of the rocky coves, cliffs and shimmering beaches which surround the gallery at Plas Glyn Y Weddw, near Pwllheli.

Deborah, who lives in Garston, came to Liverpool from Oldham in the 1980s to study textiles at Liverpool Polytechnic, graduated and never left.

The mother of two became a full-time artist in 2000 with her own gallery in Greenbank Road, Mossley Hill, and her evocative paintings now sell for up to £3,000.

Many of them are of the dramatic landscapes of the Llyn Peninsula in North West Wales but she is also fond of the cityscapes of Liverpool, the Lancashire, Cornish and Australian coasts and the grandeur of Montana’s Rocky Mountains.

She said: “I have always loved the North Wales Coast – it has been part of our holidays every year.

“There’s tremendous variety there and you never have to walk very far before something new comes into sight.

“There are long sandy beaches, rocky cliffs and coves and fields with sheep grazing and then there’s the light and the different moods.

“My paintings can appear abstract but when you look at them you can recognise the place.

“They are all of natural places and they are the inspiration but painted in my style and once you get into it, it becomes about the painting.”

Several of Deborah’s paintings will also feature Liverpool’s famous waterfront and she sees similarities with the Welsh coast: “I have done several works of the Liverpool skyline and I’m always drawn to looking out into the distance.

“I look at the structure of things, whether it’s the big buildings of Liverpool or the rocks and cliffs of the Welsh coast.”

Although her degree is in Textiles she returned to painting as a career 18 years ago and opened the Deborah Butler Gallery in 2005.

She said: “I love being able to run the gallery and work from it and display my artwork at the same time.

“I have been showing my work successfully at Plas Glyn y Weddw since 2015 and it has sold very well there.

“It is a real thrill to be able to stage such a big exhibition there and it will run right up to Christmas.

“It’s a lovely place, a big country house by the sea with gardens running down to the beach and the people there are lovely.

“I’m particularly drawn to the Wales Coastal Path and have walked so many different parts of it and I love the way it has opened up the coast to visitors.”

Deborah Butler’s exhibition Coast and Urban Horizons is at Plas Glyn y Weddw to Christmas Eve, Monday, December 24. Go to https://www.oriel.org.uk/

For more on Deborah’s work, go to https://deborahbutler.co.uk/