WILLIAM Tillyer, one of Britain’s most respected artists, celebrates a lifetime of art this autumn with a series of solo exhibitions to coincide with his 75th birthday – the first of which launches at a rural gallery in the North York Moors.

The launch show, entitled Haven, opens on Thursday, September 26, and for this he has selected a very special venue, the Inspired By…gallery at The North York Moors National Park Centre in Danby, located in the region within which he lives and works.

Haven will feature a series of vibrant, bold watercolour drawings which reveal William’s love of the landscape while also addressing the themes of structure and geometry within an inhabited, working landscape. These paintings offer a refreshingly different perspective on the North York Moors National Park, an area which is part of his everyday life.

“Travelling between my home and studio, here in North Yorkshire, I’m fortunate to drive along what one motoring journal described as ‘one of England’s great drives, great scenery, and empty roads’,” said William.

“Along this particular route, the sky becomes dominant and cloud watching an addiction.”

William, who studied painting at the Slade School of Art in London, has evolved into a diverse and talented artist, and today he is one of Britain’s most respected artists, with a still-growing reputation. The poet John Yau recently described him as “a quiet man who lives in the north, many people think he is the finest painter in Britain, many people could be right…”.

William Tillyer grew up in the north, where his parents owned a hardware shop. He studied art in his home town of Middlesbrough before moving to London in the 1960s to study at the Slade. Here, he encountered the artists William Coldstream and Anthony Gross, among others.

Following his time at the Slade, he took up a French Government scholarship to study gravure under Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17 in Paris.

During his long career, he has constantly evolved and developed through experimentation with watercolours, oils, acrylics, drawing, printmaking, and three-dimensional constructions. The series of shows planned for his 75th year will each focus on various aspects of his practice.

There’s an opportunity to meet the artist at the Inspired By... Gallery on September 28, noon-3pm, with music by harpist Elizabeth Westhead.

William’s other exhibitions include a major retrospective at MIMA in Middlesbrough, from October 25 until February 9, 2014, and solo shows at Platform A, Middlesbrough, from October 24, and at Bernard Jacobson, London, throughout the autumn.

Haven, which is part of Art in Yorkshire, a celebration of visual art in public art galleries throughout county, is a York Museums Trust Project supported by Arts Council England, which runs until Sunday, November 3. Entry is free.

For more information visit www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/inspiredby