IT'S not only the face of her husband - the new bishop of Hereford, the Rt Rev Anthony Priddis - that professional portrait painter Kathy Priddis is used to gazing at.

Several bishops, or former bishops, figure among her subjects, including the Rt Rev Stephen Sykes (Bishop of Ely 1990-99), the Rt Rev John Satterthwaite (the first bishop of the Church of England's Diocese in Europe), and the Bishop of Southern Ohio, the Rt Rev Herbert Thompson Jr.

Mrs Priddis has had several gallery exhibitions and books of her work published, with proceeds often donated to charities serving the needs of the young homeless.

Painting from the age of five, she had her first commission aged 12, before training and working as an art teacher. She returned to professional painting after raising her family of three.

Images from the scriptures, and in the natural world, inspire her imagination and, in turn, are what she hopes will inspire others through her work.

"The textures, sights and sounds we encounter in the world are, for me, an encounter with God," she has said. "Painting is a struggle and a delight - a struggle to communicate a personal vision, a delight as I continue to learn how to express it."