DRAWING in all its guises takes centre stage at a major exhibition at Salisbury Arts Centre this month.

And, for the first time, the centre’s annual open exhibition has widened its horizons to include submissions nationally.

The national open exhibition, focusing exclusively on drawing as its subject, received around 400 entries and runs until Saturday, December 12. From these entries, the selection panel of four whittled them down to 28 works by 22 artists reflecting the huge range in drawing styles and approaches.

Of those 22 artists, several are based in Hampshire, Wiltshire or Dorset. Breamore-based artist Olivia Keith makes “live” drawings and has for several years been one of the Larmer Tree Festival’s artists in residence. Her charcoal on canvas exhibited in the exhibition features a Sarum Orchestra rehearsal at the Arts Centre (pictured), capturing a magical moment during rehearsal.

The subject matter is appropriate for the venue too, as the professional orchestra has a residency at the Arts Centre and the canvas looks very much “at home”.

Salisbury-based artist, Prudence Maltby’s Woman with Birds in her Head is both thought provoking and intriguing.

She says in her artist’s statement: “Mapping an already well-worn mental imprint onto the skin of paper, with only a pencil as conduit, I am evoking a lifetime’s primary joy with the honesty and nakedness of mark.”

Cranborne Chase artist Ursula Leach makes paintings, prints and drawings responding to the chalk landscape of Cranborne Chase and her charcoal on paper Cathedral Trees is representative.

Ann Hopkins’s collage of drawings, Being, is fascinating, fusing elements of the chemical table with more immediately accessible images.

The selection panel consisted of Peter Bonnell, curator at ArtsSway in the New Forest, Marie-Anne McQuay, the curator at Spike Island art galler in Bristol, Jonathan Parsons, artist and ARC co-ordinator at Aspex in Portsmouth and Judy Adam, the Arts Centre’s visual arts co-ordinator.