L es Matthews is an artist who revels in detail. He gets the same pleasure, too, from his home town of Bristol.

Combine those two elements and you end up with one of Les Matthews' extraordinarily detailed landscapes featuring the city he loves.

Anyone with half an eye on the local art scene will recognise Les's work instantly: it's so distinctive. Geometric layers sit atop, and splinter, the wonderfully intricate panorama which he creates.

Now this highly popular artist is mounting a major exhibition at the city's Alexander Gallery in Whiteladies Road, from October 29 to November 12.

"I've persuaded him, for the very first time, to devote an entire exhibition to a single city, in this case his home town, Bristol," says the gallery's Peter Slade.

Peter, by the way, was the driving force behind the hugely successful Beryl Cook exhibition at the City Museum and Art Gallery earlier this year.

The work of Les Matthews is now acknowledged worldwide, so this very special "localised" exhibition in Bristol is something of a coup.

"Although Bristol born and bred, I have spent much of my life painting cities around the world and when Peter Slade at the Alexander Gallery first suggested an exhibition with a Bristol emphasis, my initial reaction was one of surprise." says Les.

"I had never done a single city exhibition before and for some reason, even when the thought had fleetingly passed through my mind in the past, it had never occurred to me that if I were to do one it would be of Bristol.

"However, as I wandered around Bristol with my sketch book and discussed the idea further with Peter, I realised a celebration of my home city was a challenging and very exciting prospect, and partly a trip down memory lane, reminding me of the times I climbed the Cabot Tower, admired the extraordinary façade of the Edward Everard building and walked up and down Christmas Steps.

"Other parts of the city that I loved and that inspired me were College Green and the Norman Arch.

"As a pupil at Bristol Cathedral School I walked through the latter six days a week for seven years.

"Playing rugby against Clifton College introduced me to that wonderful collection of buildings which I never tire of painting.

"One of the most complex and important pictures in the exhibition reflects the city's Brunel heritage.

"My father, who was an engineer, was a huge admirer of Brunel's Bristol legacy. So am I and it has been so rewarding to reflect some of that history in the painting I have called Brunel's Bristol.

"There are naturally several paintings in this exhibition of Bristol docks. When I was at school I used to draw in these docks all the time; it was a working port in those days and to me it still is the natural hub of the city.

"Many of the buildings and boats that excited me all those years ago are still there and painting it now has brought it all back to me."

Tim Davey