The local artist has been preparing for his spring exhibition in the Gladstone Gallery for most of this year, you may have seen him working around the countryside this Autumn and Winter.

"Autumn and Winter are the best times for me to work on location," he said.

"The sun is lower in the sky, giving an interesting light to the landscape, the temperature isn't too hot and it's usually less windy.

"I find painting landscapes is best when working outdoors, everything is there around you and you can see into the shadows.

"There is also a limited time to spend on a painting, usually around three hours until the sun shifts with less chance of overworking the painting. Other paintings often evolve whilst being on location."

Mr Rossiter has been painting and exhibiting in the valley for more than thirty years now.

"I want my paintings to tell a story, be impressionistic and true to location, what a wonderful landscape we have here, I'm inspired when I visit other places, however this valley has so much to offer in many ways including artistically," he said.

"I took a friend from the UK on a coastal sight seeing trip recently, we went up through Hat Head National Park to Hungry Head, where we saw whales and dolphins cruising close by, then over to Hat Head and a swim in Trial Bay on sunset.

"The Upper Macleay is just as impressive in a different way, however drought conditions have reduced the river to a trickle in some places."

Mr Rossiter paints with oils on canvas.

There will be around 30 original works and a collection of limited edition prints in the exhibition, mostly of the local area.