A NEW solo exhibition, called Streetwise And Weatherwise, is on show at the Staithes Gallery in Staithes from Saturday until the end of June.

Margaret Shields, who was born in Middlesbrough and now lives in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, celebrates the resilience and stoicism of the people of Teesside and the North Sea coast.

Her paintings show them buffeted by wind and waves, or dwarfed by urban architecture – tiny figures in an immense and exhilarating universe.

The viewpoints of these paintings offer a slightly skewed perspective that both disturbs and excites.

Said Margaret: “It doesn’t take much to make the ordinary look extraordinary.

“My paintings are evocative rather than views of specific places. This is what gives them their wider appeal.”