A local artist will be showcasing a collection of his Welsh landscape paintings at an exhibition that starts this weekend at Old Hall.

The exhibition by David March, 81, a retired commercial artist who lives in St Athan, will include some traditional and well-detailed paintings of Welsh landscapes as well as florals in an exhibition which runs from March 5 until March 31.

David initially approached the Old Hall about putting an exhibition together almost six months before COVID-19 struck. "I was asked to send over some pictures of what I do, and a committee decided whether they were appropriate and whether they would work or not," said David.

"At that stage, from sending three or four images of my work and another artist showing their work to set up a mixed exhibition, they came back to me and said they wanted me to do a solo, and that was back in September 2019."

David was originally scheduled to exhibit his work in March 2020, but the pandemic allowed another two years to produce new pieces. "It was good in a way because it allowed me to paint fresh work which is going into the show now," he said.

From working commercially, this will be David's first-ever exhibition. He describes how his tutor at art school told him to never become a freelance artist. "When I was at art school, the first thing the tutor said was 'don't even think about becoming a freelance artist' because no matter how good you are, you will find it difficult to make a living," said David.

"So, commercial art was the thing, especially back in those days. If you could get into the studios, you could do really well – and that's how I've lived all these years."

In retirement, David now paints what he enjoys and undertakes commissions. "I work on human and animal portraiture as well as landscapes," he said.

David hopes that visitors can relive experiences through the iconic Welsh landscapes that he has painted. "I'm hoping that they [visitors] will go away just enjoying the process of looking at paintings that are not random, but have some association with the part of the UK that we live in or have been on holiday in certain parts of Wales," he said.

The exhibition at Old Hall on Cowbridge High Street starts on Saturday, March 5 and ends on March 31.

Learn more about David March via his Facebook page.