Renowned Suffolk artist Maggi Hambling owns 15 of his oil paintings, and now other art enthusiasts have had the opportunity to buy the work of Chris Newson.
The artist has been showing his work alongside that of Carole Massey at Chalk + Cheese Exhibition, held at Artspace gallery on the Thoroughfare in Woodbridge.
In a world of contradictions where opposites attract, the two artists discovered how similar they were despite their differences after a fateful meeting 18 months ago.
The pair quite literally crossed paths in Leiston, where Mrs Massey lives and Mr Newson has a gallery.
Mr Newson has defied the odds to forge a career out of art, he survived the storm of his early years, including a spell in prison before being taken under the protective wing of the distinguished painter Maggi Hambling, who was awarded a CBE in 2010 for her services to the art world.
Mr Newson said: "I have a brilliant mentor. I am incredibly honoured that Maggi Hambling owns 15 of my oil paintings."
He added: "Maggi and her partner are both incredibly professional artists but they understand my work. They 'get' it. They see the feeling in it.
"And this is what I try and do, I'm an expressionist artist so it's the expression of myself. You should be able to look at one of my pieces and feel it rather than just see it.
"And if you can, then I've done my job."
For Mrs Massey, this was the first time she had exhibited in the UK in 15 years.
The former Bury St Edmunds resident has returned to her Suffolk roots after relocating to France in 2004. She is an established painter, teacher and author with many accolades to her belt including a request from The Born Free Foundation to commission a painting for their wildlife charity work.
Mrs Massey has an innate ability to read people, and that comes across in her work.
She said: "There was a lady looking in the window at my ballet dancer painting and I said, 'I bet she was a ballerina'. She came in and she was. Art is life and art is a way of life too."
The exhibition has now closed but the diverse duo are hoping other galleries will invite them to showcase the Chalk + Cheese exhibition.
Mr Newson explained: "We will be more than happy to put Chalk + Cheese on anywhere we can. There's a big difference between our work but between us we can cater to most tastes."
If you have space to show the exhibition, you can contact them via email
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