A PEEBLESSHIRE painter’s show Shades of Spain and Tones of the River Tweed will be part of Edinburgh International Festival - the biggest arts festival in the world.

Former Glasgow School of Art ceramics lecturer Douglas Davies, from the village of Skirling, has concentrated on painting for the past 14 years.

His exhibition at Edinburgh’s Dundas Street Gallery draws together 45 works completed over the past 18 months on paper in acrylic, pastel and pencil.

Mr Davies, elected a member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour in year 2000, has drawn inspiration from his two favourite locations to explore his passion and fascination for the impressions of different landscapes.

The 68-year-old said: “The Scottish Borders, where I have lived for over 30 years, are a constant inspiration whatever the season, as are frequent visits to south Brittany and the Mediterranean coasts of France and Spain, providing me with a totally different palette and of course that special quality of light.

“To embark on a day’s painting with a large sheet of paper, bristling brushes and good light, is always an exciting prospect if not a slightly apprehensive one as the end result could end up in the bin or with luck, in a frame.” The exhibition, at 6A, Dundas Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6HZ, runs from Friday, August 15, to Saturday, August 23, from 10am to 5pm daily. For more information call 01899 860254.