An artist who is inspired by nature has been displaying her work at a community venue in the Lakes. 

Rachel Metcalfe, of Egremont, has her paintings on display at The Gather in Ennerdale, a social hub offering a range of services for local people and tourists. 

The series of art that is on display is titled 'Walking Ennerdale', the paintings were inspired by Rachel's journeys on the fells surrounding Ennerdale Water. 

The paintings incorporate different views from Grike and Crag Fell. 

Ms Metcalfe explains: "I have walked these fells in a range of weathers and always find myself surprised at the new things I notice. 

"I love the beauty, drama, and wilderness of the place and try to capture this in my paintings."

Rachel is a West Cumbrian artist who explores a place through the experience of walking. 

She explains that she is inspired by the natural world and that her work is an art collaboration and dialogue between nature and her journey through a place, something that she describes as a 'push-and-pull relationship.'

She continued: "I constantly seek new perspectives: peeling back the layers of a place to discover something new. 

"My current projects involve walking and exploring the varied landscapes of West Cumbria. 

"I record my walking journeys through sketches made on location. I then translated my sketchbook into paintings using a range of media.

"Some of my sketches have been turned into watercolour paintings and some of the others on display have been turned into bigger pieces, these ones have an acrylic base with oils on top. 

"It's very much about the layering and trying to capture the landscape in lots of different atmospheres and elements. 

"I've been doing it for a while now and have sketchbooks full of these, so for the exhibition, I chose a selection of the final paintings. 

"I've got so many sketches like the artwork that is shown here."

Rachel's artwork can be viewed upstairs in the community room at The Gather.