An exhibition by Halstead’s Collective Art Group was held at the weekend and saw almost 300 visitors attend over two days.

The group was launched more than 40 years ago, with its oldest member now being in their 90s.

Local art enthusiasts get together every Monday afternoon at St Andrew's small hall on Parsonage Street to experiment with different mediums - creating paintings and drawings using watercolour, oil, acrylic and collage.

The art group hosts a number of professionally-led artistic workshops each year, as well as member-led evenings every six to eight weeks.

Members stage an exhibition each year when their work is displayed for the community to enjoy or buy.

The group contacted the Co-op and was given the use of the old Dorothy Perkins shop, which has been empty since it closed in 2021.

Group member Jill Curtis said: “People were so happy to see us using the shop front.

"It’s been empty for a good few years now, so everyone was so happy to see something in there.

“Many have asked if we can stay here."

The exhibition saw around 280 visitors across the weekend and more than a dozen paintings were sold.

Jill said: “Last year we held the event in the Bull’s function room.

“The weather was wet and rainy and only 94 people came to visit, so this year has been hugely successful."

The group’s artwork is still on display in the empty High Street shop.

“We’ve got our eye on a couple of other empty shops in town," said Jill.

“We want to continue to showcase our work and inspire other people to get artistic.

“It’s fantastic, it just gets us out into the community and lets people know we’re here,

“A lot of people have said they’d be interested in joining the group, which means we may have to move to bigger premises,

“Most of us have been into art and creating pieces for numerous years so it’s nice to be able to share our passion with our local community."

Some members are staging a ‘sketch out’, which will take place outside Whisper’s Wine Bar on the High Street, on August 15, for people to create pictures of Halstead’s historic buildings.

“We welcome new members and encourage people with an artistic flare or interest to give us a try,” Jill said.