AN art group which has painted mayors, a judge and a Dominican Friar is opening its latest exhibition tomorrow.

The Studley Green Portrait Group will be showing its work at the Bourne End Library from March 4 to April 8.

They meet every Friday in Studley Green to paint portraits from life models- there is no tutor and everyone paints in their own style.

Each painter takes it in turn to bring in a model who sits still for four periods of 30 minutes.

There are nine core artists, who use a variety of media including charcoal, watercolour, pastel, oil and acrylic and all paint in a different style.

Artist Sarah Luton said: "It is a challenge for most of us to complete a painting in two hours but sometimes the process can be more important than the final image. It is very intensive work. We don't play music and nobody talks while we are working.

"There is something fascinating about painting a portrait from life. We don't get a chance to get to know the sitter so the paintings evolve from direct observation. There is so much more you can see from life. It gives you the chance to move around and study the head and features from different angles to really understand their form. You see far more colours and tones which might not appear in a photo."

The artists will be at the exhibition on March 7 from 11am to 1pm.