William Cotterill graduated from Central St Martin’s six years ago. Now aged 27, he is Oxford based, and the majority of his work derives from rural and urban scenes in and around the city.

Cotterill is clearly rooted in the classical tradition. His palette of colours speaks of the Old Masters: wonderful leaden whites and blues enriched with rich browns and a judicious use of black. And, as a base on which to paint, he uses gesso, prepared in the traditional manner which includes the use of rabbit-skin glue. This he uses to prime his canvases and to provide a surface that can be worked and reworked over a period of time in order to achieve the desired effect. The result is a series of pieces that are highly textured and that explore both movement and density.

There is something very compelling about the landscapes and buildings he paints. And as it is often not easy to discern the actual site of the subject matter, he is able to make a more general point about changes and man’s impact on the world around him.

But in Interference the Oxford setting is clearly visible: the view from Botley bridge with Osney Island’s East Street and New Osney’s iconic buildings. The picture is overlaid with a blanket of black that creates a barrier that needs to be broken through in order to see what is beyond it.

In Experiment with Infinity,a foreground of slim tree trunks is crossed by a dark path that leads the eye into the picture, while two textured white collections of grasses and shrubs are set against an explosive complex white skyscape.

The exhibition is at Art Jericho and continues until February 27. It is open from Wednesday to Saturday and on Sunday afternoons.