A thought-provoking exhibition in Bampton by the Oxford Art Society offers a range of skilled artists bursting with ideas. Take Alan Mynall’s muted oil painting Simmer Tree. If this is a traditional landscape why is it symmetrical? Or is it? It seems there a discrepancy in this notion of symmetry. A ‘ragged man’ sits on one side of the picture and two apparently similar buildings in the distance are actually not the same as one is a church and the other a supermarket. Above this problematic scene a bright light introduces a note of optimism.

Jago Pryce gives us the delightful Horatio is Found, a watercolour close-up of a contented, buxom woman in Beryl Cook style, happily holding her beloved cockerel, resplendent in burnished feathers. Pryce paints everyday folk with a touch of humour. She invites us to befriend our insecurities and to take ourselves less seriously. Surely an enlightening philosophy. Red Kites, a screenprint by Andrea Hewes, is liberating in a different way. One bird, caught in four different positions, soars up high, alive with movement. Yellow ribbons swirl around, accentuating the swoop of the copper-coloured kites. Jill Cooper’s fabric collages are fun: The Talgarth Male Voice Choir in green jackets and pink and lime striped ties have their mouths open wide, singing to their heart’s content. Splashing depicts a couple, hand in hand, nervously venturing into the sea, the foam, made of white net, splashing them while the pier, supported with metal cross struts made of black thread stands firm. A delightful scene.

On a more traditional note, Peter Farley’s beautifully executed watercolours display his love of old buildings. His little curved Harbour at Portgain with its protective wall of brick, metal and stone in subtle shades of orange, umber and sienna giving a feeling for the spirit and texture of the Pembrokeshire coast.

The tender Feeding Time, a ceramic stoneware sculpture by Anna Lever with the duck and the hen waiting patiently for the seed to drop from the quiet woman is very soothing while Christine Burgess’s anxious Watching and Waiting expresses so much of the anxious anticipation of life today.

The exhibitiion remains on show until March 28. It is open from Tuesday to Saturday between 10.30am-12.30pm and 2-4pm, and on Sundays from 2-4pm.