Jessica Leighton’s work is an intense exploration of the landscapes that fascinate her. She describes it as about shapes and patterns, and she intends each piece to work close up and from a distance, which indeed is the case.

In all her pieces Leighton creates the sensations of altitude and distance while capturing the contours of the land mass. Almost all her work has at its top a clear horizon, usually delineated by an intricately worked row of trees and a low-lying dwelling or building that is cleverly integrated into the landscape and surrounding ground. This then provides a starting point of the dramatic vertical sweeps of colour that fill the rest of the pictures — colour, in blocks, that speaks of fenced off fields and variety in the agriculture within them.

She makes each piece by scratching away layers of paint and often adds a collage of paper as part of the process. She uses mixed media including newspaper, seeds, buttons, coins and beads. The seeds make references to plants and bountiful harvests and the others link subtly with mechanisation and a human presence.

In Andalucian Fields (above) she creates a sense of drama and anticipation by setting her avenue of trees against earthy hills and using the dramatic blocks of colour that represents the arable land to draw the eye to the heart of the picture.

The pieces recording her present home, the Cotswolds, are more muted: Cotswold Autumn and Cotswold Mist are rendered in the cool steel greys of a very English light with bare silhouettes of the trees captured in finely executed patterns.

The exhibition is at Chipping Norton Theatre until January 3, and open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 11am-3pm, and during performances.