ARTIST Sarah King has hired Whitecroft Memorial Hall to put on an exhibition of her own paintings plus some ceramics from a potter friend.
"I like my work to be affordable. I would rather sell a painting for £30 to go towards a week's shopping than wait for ages to sell an expensive piece of art," she said.
Sarah, 45, sold up her home in Oxfordshire and moved here in 2007 with her son, who is shortly leaving home. She has exhibited paintings in Chepstow through the Art on the Railings scheme, but after learning she had to go on a waiting list for Forest galleries she decided to go it alone.
Her exhibition, mostly paintings of natural scenes in and around the Forest, will be on April 4.
"On coming to the Forest I soon realised that not only were there very few jobs available but I would most definitely have to retrain," she said.
"Having spent the last 20 years being a full time mum and housewife, not only had I lost my confidence but also my secretarial skills. Let's face it 20 years ago they didn't have computers in offices!
"It was while I was walking my dog in the Forest worrying about this problem that I was inspired to paint what I was seeing. At first it was simply to distract myself from my worries about my future.
"However as I spent the last of my money on oil paints and canvas and blew the cobwebs off my brushes I remembered that I used to paint and sell my work 25 years ago when I was first married and lived in a cottage in Oxfordshire.
"Elaine Johnson has lived in the Forest many years and her work will compliment mine beautifully."