Marcus Cherrill's first solo show at Star Brewery Gallery

Marcus Cherrill is offering his first solo show at Lewes’ Star Brewery Gallery.

Called The Familiar Landscape, it runs at the Star Brewery Gallery, Lewes from July 25-August 3.

Marcus, who lives in Eastbourne, said: “The Familiar Landscape explores a lifelong relationship with the landscapes of East Sussex.

“Growing up in Lewes and attending Priory School, I developed an enduring connection with the Downs, river valleys and coastline that continues to shape my work today. Rather than seeking new subjects, I return repeatedly to the same places, discovering how light, weather and the changing seasons continually transform familiar landscapes.

“Working primarily in acrylic, my paintings are built from years of walking, cycling and quietly observing the countryside. This exhibition is not a survey of different locations, but an exploration of one landscape observed over time. From Firle Beacon and Caburn to the Seven Sisters and the Ouse Valley, each painting reflects a different encounter with places that have become deeply familiar.

“Painting isn’t about finding somewhere extraordinary; it’s about discovering that the familiar is extraordinary if you look closely enough.

“I hope visitors recognise places they know while perhaps seeing them differently through colour, atmosphere and the ever-changing light that makes the Sussex landscape unique.”

Marcus is a contemporary landscape painter based in Eastbourne.

Before becoming a full-time artist, he spent more than thirty years working in education, including the last five years training teachers internationally. Painting has not been a search for a new hobby, but the beginning of a new career built around a lifelong fascination with the landscapes of Sussex.

His work combines strong compositional design with an emphasis on light, atmosphere and colour, creating contemporary interpretations of places that have shaped his life for decades. Through repeated observation, he seeks, he says, “to distil the essence of the landscape rather than simply record it.”

Although painting professionally only since late 2025, his work has already been recognised through selection for the Star Brewery Gallery Summer Exhibition and longlisting in the Jackson’s Art Prize. He continues to develop an evolving body of work rooted in one of England’s most distinctive landscapes.