Anne Sudworth’s exhibition in the town follows on from a London exhibition held in Chelsea earlier this year and runs until 11 November.

She said she picked Whitby as the venue to hold the exhibition as it is one of her favourite places and has provided the inspiration for a number of her paintings.

On Sunday during Goth Weekend, Anne, who has long been part of the Goth scene herself, will be signing copies of her new book, Gothic Fantasies, which is adorned with a painting of Whitby Abbey and features many of her new eye-catching paintings.

A regular visitor to Whitby Goth Weekend for many years, Anne, whose studio is based in St Helen’s, has been painting since early childhood and started her career as a professional artist in 1993.

Her original work which costs thousands of pounds to buy can be found in collections all over the world including Germany, Australia, America, Russia, India, Japan, New Zealand and the UK.

She said: “Much of my work contains overtones of magic and ancient beliefs.

“I like to explore the idea that the earth has a darker, lesser-known side, perhaps one of which our ancestors were more aware.

“Since being a small child I have been drawn to the dark, the romantic and the mysterious.

“I have always been fascinated by moonlight and often walk at night, especially on the hills and in woodlands.

“I love wild places and at night time, they seem to take on a particularly magical feel.”

A self-taught artist, Anne has experimented with many different media including oil, clay, watercolour and pen and ink but she now works mostly with pastel.

Her dark moody pastel paintings, which are available for sale at Pannett Art Gallery, are deeply involved with nature and its more mystical aspects.

The artist is best known for her Earth Light Trees, an ongoing series of paintings which show imagery in which trees, forests and woodlands glow with their own earth light and lifeforce, with the moon in various phases.

Her inspiration comes from many things including dreams, mysticism, nature, death, mythology and folklore.

Anne has also appeared in a number of books on art and goths including Mick Mercer’s well-known Goth Rock Books. For more information about Anne’s work visit www.AnneSudworth.co.uk

The book signing at Pannett Art Gallery will take place between noon and 4pm.