A Kenilworth artist has opened the first permanent display of his paintings at a local café.

Paul Miller now has a selection of his works at The Modern Kitchen in Millar Court after the owners Nicola and Richard Butterfield saw his social media appeal looking for someone to exhibit his paintings.

Having had little time for art during his working life, Paul has returned to the hobby in his retirement.

And with an eye for a hidden gem, his paintings in The Modern Kitchen show some of the lesser-known parts of town.

"For me I like either natural subjects or painting local scenes but not the 'chocolate box' views," he said.

"So I tried to pick things that were local, things people would recognise. Because it was the first set of paintings that I had put up, and in a local café, I wanted the scenes to be local.

"I like the little corners of Kenilworth that people who live here would recognise. They might not be able to place it exactly but they know that they have seen it."

Having been very artistic in his youth, Paul got back into painting after attending a course at the Kenilworth Centre.

He then retired just two weeks before the first lockdown in March 2020, so has had plenty of time to dedicate to his watercolours.

Paul added: "I suddenly had loads of time to put into something I was already passionate about.

"One of the first paintings I did was of the allotments where you have got the houses in the background and the plots below. I like that architectural scene and it was interesting to see whether I could actually make it work."

This painting was one that actually caught Nicola's eye and was one of the reasons she wanted to display Paul's work.

"I have an allotment at Odibourne and Paul's painting was actually opposite my patch, and that caught my eye initially," she said.

"Paul has been a customer of ours for a few years, so I thought it would be lovely to have his work in the shop.

"I feel you get back what you put in. It might just be a small thing, but Paul supported us getting going, so I wanted to support him back."

As well as putting the paintings and prints on display in The Modern Kitchen up for sale, Paul said the display was also a chance to push him out of his comfort zone.

"For me a lot of it is getting feedback from people who see the paintings," he said.

"You can be in the bubble and only hear your family's views, so sometimes it is nice to hear what people really say.

"I am a terrible judge of what people like, the things that I enjoy painting often other people do not like at all. Sometimes I am amazed what people see in the pictures – I suppose that is art really."

And as well as giving him an outlet during the lockdown, Paul said getting back into painting had been a brilliant way to socialise.

"Painting gives you a chance to meet new people, through Kenilworth artists and just chatting with people who see my paintings.

"That group has been so useful on all sorts of levels, and particularly during lockdown.

"So hopefully the display will also be chance to speak to new people and hear what they think about my work."