The Jam Factory, opposite the Said Business School, is an excellent place to show art. The walls are spacious and the coffee served second to none. So visitors can relax with a drink while taking in the exhibits. Actress Isobel Pravda is displaying work until December 13. This is her first show but, given its quality, there will be many more.

She says that in a way this is an example of art mirroring life, as she played the lead as Monet’s wife in The Impressionists drama screened on BBC1 a couple of years ago. Both acting and painting come from Isobel’s need to express herself. She loves the feeling of peace and satisfaction she gets when the image or the performance hits the right note. When she knows she has got it right, she sees it as a magical moment.

Her paintings, which are all oils on canvas, offer a mix of nudes and landscapes inspired by the year she spent in Greece. She attributes her nudes, which appear to celebrate the body as it is, not as it could be if given a make over, to the influence of Lucian Freud. Two of these, celebrations of the human form show a woman throwing her head right back while pushing her body forward. Others (all of which are untitled) give us the twisted form of a woman who appears to be posing for herself rather than the artist. Deep shadows add an air of mystery to paintings that call on very few colours on the palate to create a mood. Sepia predominates and every effectively.

The impressionistic landscapes, which depict rural scenes in Corfu, Corinth and other Greek towns, stand in stark contrast. It is as if two artists are sharing the space, rather than one. In the landscapes she has reached beyond the sepia and called on colours that depict the Mediterranean sunshine falling on the Greek landscape.

Included in this section is a superb two-foot triptych of Corinth. which was short-listed for the Royal Academy Summer show this year. No doubt her work will be accepted by the RA next year.