THE creator of a series of popular characters will bring his new collection of paintings featuring them, all inspired by a cake-baking neighbour, to Cottingham’s Artmarket Gallery next month.

Peter Smith and his wife Jayne, also an artist, will make a personal appearance at the gallery on Sunday 4 December between noon and 3pm. As well as meeting them, visitors will be able to see the new collection, A Cup of Tea & A Slice of Bake, featuring the tubby striped characters for which Peter is famous, the Impossimals.

Peter explains his inspiration for the new paintings: “Last year, we moved studio and a couple of days later, there was a knock at the door and it was our new neighbour, Ken, with a cake.

“It was a fabulous, huge chocolate cake – you can see it in the painting Let Them Eat Cake, with Ken on the left with his spoon – Ken really loves cake! He’d made the chocolate cake, then decided it wasn’t good enough, so he’d put a Victoria sponge on top, shoved it into the middle, and iced the lot. Ken always bakes to the max!

“He inspired my new collection. Three of the paintings actually feature Ken as an Impossimal – you can also see him in Bake Off perched on top of the multi-tiered cake, and in Rolling Scones.”

A Cup of Tea & A Slice of Bake comprises six new paintings plus a highly collectable signed boutique limited edition giclée print, and five new hand-painted resin pieces. Also on display on 4 December only will be other original artworks and pencil sketches by Peter.

Drinks and canapés on the day will be provided by East Yorkshire’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, the Pipe and Glass at South Dalton – last year, Peter unveiled The Secret Pantry, a specially commissioned Impossimal painting exclusively for the Artmarket Gallery and inspired by the Pipe and Glass and its owners James and Kate Mackenzie.

Michelle Power, director of the Artmarket Gallery said: “Peter is one of our best-selling artists – his fantastic Impossimals have a huge following. This will be a wonderful afternoon, and a great opportunity to meet the man behind the paintbrush, and his equally talented wife.”