ACOMB artist Kate Kenney has been taking a break from painting and exhibiting, giving her time to reflect and refresh before going away for several months this summer.

"However, the good news is that I still have an exhibition coming up in June," she says, looking forward to her Passion: Yorkshire Landscape and Still Life Oil Paintings show at the Scampston Hall Walled Garden café, Scampston, near Malton.

"The exhibition brings together the two main subjects of my paintings: the rolling hills and dales of the Yorkshire countryside, especially the Wolds and the stunning garden flowers and plants, usually from my garden."

Despite doubts about her artistic career and the direction she wants to take – "nothing unusual for any artist," says Kate – her passion for en plein air and oil painting holds true.

"Scampston sits in the heart of the Yorkshire Wolds and has its own gorgeous gardens, so, like York, it's a great place to visit, especially as the cafe hosts a variety of selling exhibitions throughout its season, featuring local artists like myself," she says.

"My exhibition showcases my latest work: paintings inspired by the countryside around York and my garden. Although the subject matter is not new, there is the beginnings of change in my technique as I strive for greater variety and texture, using paint more thickly and glazes for example. There is still, as always, much to learn, which is part of the fun."

Kate also has created her own website, katekenney.co.uk. "I took a really good course run by York Learning, and doing the website myself means it’s much more cost effective for me to run and I'm not beholden to anyone else."

Kate's Passion exhibition will run from June 19 to August 19. "Parking is readily available and free, as is entry to the newly decorated Walled Garden cafe, overlooking the gardens, though there is a fee for entry to the gardens themselves," she says.

Charles Hutchinson