Bob Barker has been captivated by what can be achieved with a brush, paint and a few small squares of hardboard ever since being gifted a set of oil paints as a 12-year-old boy.

After a childhood spent navigating the cobbled streets of the industrialised north of England, the acclaimed painter has channelled his self-styled ‘Northern Impressionism’ into his stunning new collection, Northern Light. Drawing upon Bob’s memories of the Yorkshire mill towns that shaped his youth, the body of work is a series of tableaus that immortalise the light and shadows that have captivated him for a lifetime.

He says: “When I paint, it’s almost – at least through my eyes – as if this northern light pours from my brush onto the canvas. Light in the north transforms everything it touches…from the cobbled streets to the terraced houses, mills and back alleyways…they have been bathed in this light for decades.”