MORE used to playing guitar to tens of thousands of fans in heavy rock band Hello, Tom Katz has now made a home on the South Coast and it taking part in this weekend’s open studios event in Bridport and West Bay.

Having enjoyed a 30-year career in music, touring the world, Tom now plays for fun in the band Ground Attack and enjoys a fine reputation as an accomplished artist, using his West Bay apartment as a studio for creating his powerful abstracts.

Tom is one of 35 artists exhibiting in the May Open Studios event this weekend, inviting the public to explore dozens of artists’ studios as Bridport becomes one of the most popular art destinations in the West Country, mainly led by the explosion of activity at the St Michael's Studio complex on the former rope-making factory site.

Half of the artists in the open event work at St Michael's, including painters Kit Glaisyer with his recent series of large-scale romantic landscapes, idiosyncratic surrealist paintings by John Charlesworth and semi-abstract paintings by Anna Sullock.

Other artists can be found out of town, including, near Broadwindsor, the renowned sculptor and painter Carolyne Kardia; and plein-air painter Michael J Chappel at Mangerton Mill.

There’s also minimalist landscape paintings by highly acclaimed artist Alex Lowery at Sladers Yard gallery in the old boat-building warehouse at West Bay.

Full details at bridport.org.

  • Art lovers can also find plenty of interest in Abbotsbury Art Week and Purbeck Art Week, both running until May 31.