TWO artists with ties to the Wee County are set to launch their first exhibition this week, showcasing a wide selection of their work so far.

Elizabeth Lily Jax and Kristian Meldrum have launched a joint exhibition at Sterling Mills Tillicoultry on Thursday, August 29.

Running for two and a half weeks until September 16, the exhibition will allow the two budding artists to showcase their work, which ranges from landscape and portrait pieces to more abstract creations.

Elizabeth, originally from Dollar, is developing her collection of abstract paintings, naming after the archangels.

“This is my first time,” Elizabeth said. “This is my first exhibition as well so I’m excited to get down to it.

“We’ve been promoting it for a while so we’re hoping a lot of people show up and see our work.

“I’ve done a few portraits in the past but I’m focusing on doing abstract and acrylic paintings.

“I’ve been getting back into my art for the past year – I took a break to travel and do other things.

“I used to do art when I was in school, I’ve been doing it on and off for some time but it will be good to hold this exhibition.”

Kristian, who lives in Stirling but his family originate from Clacks, was pushed to focus on his artwork by his wife.

Originally working for Scottish Gas before starting his own business, Kristian threw himself into his artwork a year ago and now looks forward to hosting his exhibition come Thursday.

“I’m over the moon,” Kristian said. “I’ve been working on my art for the last year and solely concentrating on that.

“This is my first exhibition and it fell into our laps getting the unit over there, the people at the outlet village have been so helpful and they’ve given us a unit for the next couple of weeks.

“I’m really looking forward to it, we’re all organised, just needing to give the unit a wee clean and then we’re all ready to open for Thursday.

“My wife pushed me to do it – I worked for Scottish Gas for 20 years and my heart wasn’t really in it so I decided to concentrate on my art.

“I had the backing of my wife and if it wasn’t for her, it wouldn’t be happening so a lot of this is down to her.”

The duo’s exhibitions will be available at Sterling Mills for a period of 17 days starting from this Thursday.

Art work will be available for sale throughout this period, with both artists on hand to welcome visitors into the showcase.