LIGHT, mood and atmosphere are the driving forces behind Keith Noble’s work, on show this month at Workshop Wales Gallery near Fishguard.

Originally from Chorley, Lancashire, Noble had a highly successful career as a graphic designer in London before establishing himself as a painter. Now based in Shropshire, he makes frequent trips to West Wales to gain inspiration for his work.

“My favourite subjects are coastal, land and marine,” says Noble, who is a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists.

“A lot of my paintings depict beaches. I like the way people go mad on the beaches in the holidays – they don’t care what they wear or what they do. I like patrolling the beaches looking for characters to put into paintings.”

Sometimes Noble changes his perspective entirely and look up the beaches towards the land; on other occasions he leaves the coast and shifts his focus to cities in the rain. Oxford and London are particular favourites.

“Oxford’s great in the rain because you’ve still got the old flagstones in some parts and the architecture reflects in them,” he says.

Oxford will feature in the Workshop Wales show along with Pembrokeshire, Venice and beach scenes. A painter who can turn his hand to seemingly any subject, from still life to landscape, Noble likes to offer gallery visitors plenty of variety.

“I like to balance an exhibition,” he says. “I don’t like to put an exhibition where you might have thirty paintings of boats and three of architecture; I like a nice mix of subjects. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I like to make sure there’s something for everybody.”

This versatility extends to his choice of medium; he is able to switch effortlessly between watercolour and oil depending on the nature of each scene.

“With oils you put light on dark; with watercolours it’s reversed and all your highlights are the white paper. There are certain subjects are so difficult to do in watercolour it would be a waste of time trying, and this is when oil comes into its own.”

Whatever scene he’s painting, Noble aims to convey the sense of mood and atmosphere he felt at the time, with a special focus on light.

“I think painting into the light is great – there’s always a sparkle, or halos around peoples heads from the light hitting their hair,” he says. “The process of painting sometimes drives me mad, but you just have to carry on. You’re always looking for that magic painting – the one that you really, really like.”

The show runs September 1 to 14 at Workshop Wales Gallery, Manorwen, Fishguard.