ROD FRIEND, a stained glass artist for 45 years, is holding his exhibition "Andalucia in Stroud" at The Subscription Rooms in Stroud from April 10-15.

Rod left Stroud in 2003 to live in Spain.

"Andalucia in Stroud" is his third exhibition in the UK of Spanish life and landscape in soft pastel.

Rod said: "I find this medium (of soft pastel) a wonderful device for representing the way that adjacent tones in nature meet and merge, allowing the artist to really celebrate the subtleties of both light and darkness.

"It has been a short and natural step from manipulating actual light and darkness in the translucent medium of glass to handling these pure pigments on black paper.

"People often say how wonderful the light is in Andalucia for artists.....and I respond, "Yes, and the shadows are pretty good too."

"It is a great pleasure to be back in Stroud, the town that nurtured me for so many years and where my children grew up, to share this new step in my professional life."