We are used to seeing exhibition of landscape paintings of the Manx countryside.

However, there is another display, which opened at ta southern art gallery this week, which may make you look at the local scenery from a whole new perspective.

Artist Natalie Norton has unveiled her collection of work, entitled ’Circles of My Mind’, at the Erin Arts Centre, in Port Erin.

It contains a series of land and sea scapes, each one featuring eye-catching and dazzling patterns and bright, vivid colours and, most uniquely of all, each one framed neatly in a circle.

Her style is instantly likeable and attractive, and the placing of the paintings in a circular frame allowed Natalie to joyfully play with the focal point and perspectives of each scene, creating an almost fish-eye lens effect.

This is Natalie’s first solo exhibition, and is one that has gradually grown with Natalie taking little steps in exploring her own art work.

’I studied at art at college years ago, and I have always carried on doing art and ceramics as a hobby,’ said Natalie.

’A couple of years ago my husband started to encourage me to start and push myself a little bit more.

’I entered a few open exhibitions and some competitions, which went to having one of my designs used on a T-shirt for the traditional boat weekend. That got me back to painting boats, which I used to draw when I lived in Peel.’

All of Natalie’s pictures are Manx related, and she blends the local scenes with her main themes of pattern, texture and colour, all within the idiosyncratic circular design.

’There are a lot of Peel ones, which is where I grew up, and a lot of them have a nautical theme,’ she said.

’There are others that are just developed by people suggesting certain places. ’My style is a lot of pattern and a lot of colour. They are things that are the most important to me.

’Also, and I can’t remember how this started, but the circular composition became a massive thing for me. I just like it.

’You can look at a flat view, but when you put it in a circle, it really plays with the perspective. It is something that has stuck, and I don’t know If I can draw outside a circle now.

’Some of my paintings are from scenes I have looked at time and time again, and I try to imagine the angles.

It depends on what my focal point is. Mostly they are central but sometimes they are off to one side.’

Natalie decided to take the plunge and open her first exhibtion, something which she described as a dream and her most exciting project yet. She has also published her own website, which went online this year.

Her exhibition is open until Wednesday, August 30, and is free to enter.

More details of Natalie’s work can be seen at natalienortonart.com

by Mike Wade

twitter:@mwislandlife