THE Blue Tree Gallery's Summer Exhibition, in Bootham, York, features original paintings by Giuliana Lazzerini, Anthony Marshall, Emerson Mayes and Claire West and original ceramics by Karen McPhail.

Giuliana Lazzerini's varied work is often developed from an idea encountered during a journey that takes her into unknown territory where she grows as an artist. "I usually work in small series of paintings, where memory and imagination come to interplay," she says. "Time has made me more familiar with the northern landscape and it finally has left a mark in some of my work as I become more intrigued by its drama and atmosphere."

Anthony Marshall draws inspiration from his observation of everyday life, people and things around him, with his present focus being on York and Yorkshire. His artistic touch is unusual and distinctive, injecting cosmopolitan colour into everyday scenes, where "naturalistic rendering of reality is substituted for bold exclamations of bright colour, coupled with occasional splashes of expressionism".

Emerson Mayes is rooted firmly in the British landscape tradition, his work reflecting his passion for this vast and complex subject. "Although he strives to achieve a direct response, he is never tied down by the 'topographical' elements in the landscape," says Blue Tree Gallery's Gordon Giarchi.

Claire West loves colour and enjoys exploring its contrasts and its vibrant and intense nature. "In working this way, she likes using colours that are often believed to not work together," says Gordon. "In doing this, Claire hopes to break down the boundaries of what we should do and explore the freedom that is so often lost in art when we're no longer children."

Potter Karen McPhail makes functional and decorative earthenware ceramics for the the home. Coloured slip decoration, printed detail and glaze are applied in layers to create a playful, collage-like quality and each piece is fired up to three times to 1080 degrees centigrade in an electric kiln.

The Blue Tree Gallery Summer Exhibition runs until August 1.