Chrissie Moss hopes her new mixed media exhibition will promote care and action for the island’s environment and wildlife.

Our Wild Isle opened at the Hodgson Loom Gallery, in Laxey, on Saturday and features 40 paintings and detailed studies of the Isle of Man.

Chrissie said: ‘I hope that this exhibition helps raise awareness of the diversity and beauty of the Isle of Man’s natural landscape and wildlife to local residents and visitors, helping to promote appreciation and interest of what we have here, thus encouraging action to protect and care for it.

‘I don’t want my paintings to be a record of things that used to exist but a celebration of what we have.’

The exhibition, her first since Covid, has taken Chrissie about two years to prepare.

It includes a mix of gouache, acrylic and pen and ink pieces and depicts views and wildlife around Castletown and Langness.

Chrissie, who has had her work published and exhibited at the RHS at Chelsea, draws inspiration from her love of art and nature, which was instilled in her by her father, who was also an artist.

She had her first exhibition at the age 14 alongside her father at a local craft fair.

Chrissie moved to the island in 2016 to be near to family and settled easily.

‘I found I felt very at home and fell in love with the island, its scenery and wildlife,’ she said.

‘Originally from Lancashire I found the island similar in many ways to that area where I was born and grew up.

‘I went to school and college in Blackpool, and you could see the Isle of Man from there on a clear day - perhaps I was always destined to cross the water to the rock in the middle of the Irish Sea.’

Asked what made the island’s wildlife and environment special, she said: ‘Being a small island, we are surrounded by the sea and a wonderful diverse coastline and the wildlife that holds. There are a variety of different landscapes within the island too.

‘The sea has always fascinated me with its power, beauty, colours, reflections, tides, changing moods and the life it holds above and below the waves.

‘When I first arrived the thrill of seeing dolphins, basking sharks and seals in their natural habitat was exciting.

‘However, it has to be said, the curlew holds a special place in my heart, as it reminds me of my childhood listening to its haunting call on the moors where I lived and now here on island.

‘Sadly, they are now a bird on the red list as numbers have drastically reduced.’

Chrissie said she felt sad that so many people have lost their connection and interest with nature and don’t realise how important it is to the environment and ultimately to us and the planet’s future.

She praised programmes such as Wild Isles with David Attenborough for helping to raise awareness of British wildlife.

And she said lots of work was already taking place to promote the island’s environment through its Biosphere status.

‘I hope that visitors to the exhibition will be able to see the beauty that I’ve tried to capture in my paintings,’ she said.

Our Wild Isle continues until June 10.

For more information about Chrissie follow Chrissie Moss on Instagram at @chrissiemossart.