THE popular annual exhibition by the West Wycombe Art Group returns next weekend.

Wycombe artist and caricaturist James Lythe will be the featured artist at this four day exhibition at West Wycombe Village Hall.

He joined the Group in 2006 after returning to art later in life. Academic studies took over when he was younger but after seeing a watercolour portrait by Michael Frith in the Sunday Times he decided to return to the creative outlet.

This portrait was exactly how James wanted to paint and he realised much more time would have to be devoted to it, which is when he joined the West Wycombe group.

Working within this friendly group of artists has enabled him to develop and to understand light, shade, colour, and different types of paint, from watercolour to gouache to acrylic, all aspects of art that are different from just being able to draw.

James is a skilled exponent of caricature, and a big fan of Gerald Scarfe's work,.

He is also drawn to the bold visuals of illustration, from the Art Nouveau advertising posters of Alphonse Mucha through to Drew Struzan who painted film posters throughout the 80s for films James grew up with like Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Blade Runner.

At this year's exhibition he is applying the styles of poster art to some historical and mythical subjects, adding an element of abstraction.

The West Wycombe Art Group Summer Exhibition opens in West Wycombe Village Hall on August 22 (10am to 5pm) and is open over the Bank Holiday weekend from Saturday to Monday (10am to 6pm). James will be drawing caricatures during the exhibition, so mention this article and he will draw you one for free.