A NAILSWORTH artist has released Francis of Assisi: Paintings for our Time, a book of paintings, woodcuts and stone carvings chronicling the life of the beloved saint and is touring an exhibition of the work between Salisbury and London throughout November.

Greg Tricker was impelled to create the works after a visit to Assisi, where he spent his time researching the life and deeds of the bucolically minded saint. He visited the small church of San Damiano, which Francis had rebuilt and which was the site of the revelation that guided him to help the poor and the lepers and found the Franciscan order.

"The life of St Francis is full of underlying themes in my work," said Tricker. "He gets down to the nitty-gritty of everyday humanity. He reached across barriers to be in touch with the spirit of each person, or being.

"He saw the universe as a family, rather than take the 2D analytical, scientific approach to the universe. Brother sun, sister moon."

The works, which are beautifully simple, often evoke the spiritually rich, dream-like quality of Chagall, who Tricker was influenced by, along with Van Gogh and Roult. They will be on display at the Piano Nobile Gallery in London's Holland Park between Friday, November 10 and November 19, having finished a run at Salisbury Cathedral this week.

Tricker's work was first noticed by the renowned composer Sir John Tavener, who praised its "child-like style, which reminds me of Ethiopian Ikons". This endorsement eventually led to Piano Nobile asking to present his latest exhibition.

*Francis of Assisi: Paintings for our Time has been published by Green Books and is available from Nonsuch Books in Nailsworth and Muladula, Union Street, Stroud, priced £25. A review will appear in What's On next week.