He brought us Hyndburn’s answer to the Mona Lisa – and now Edward Foster is back with a new series of paintings celebrating life in the borough.

The Great Harwood artist is showcasing 30 paintings, old and new at Accrington’s Haworth Art Gallery in an exhibition entitled Northern Folk.

Among the striking pictures he has created are scenes of people in a fish and chip shop having their tea, and revellers in a pub enjoying a drink.

There is also a new picture entitled The Wife showing a formidable-looking woman with her quailing husband behind.

Edward, 37, of Lowerfold Road, has previously appeared in the Observer with his painting The Moaning Lisa – which is a parody of the famous Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo Da Vinci.

In the past, he has also created The Three Gossips, based on The Three Graces by Botticelli – showing three gossiping women.

He said: "A lot of the Northern Folk paintings are quite humorous, but there are some other ones which have more serious in tone.

"With some of them I went for more pathos and they have a somewhat deeper meaning about people and how they fit in with society.

"With one of them, for example I was influenced by Hieronymous Bosch, a Renaissance painter who did a famous picture called Christ Carrying the Cross.

"So, while most of the Northern Folk ones are quite fun, there is some more serious stuff, too, as I like tackling those kind of social issues which you see a lot nowadays."

Edward’s display is part of the Haworth’s Open Focus series which showcases artists work from the area.

The preview for the exhibition is on Friday, December 16 and it is open to the public the next day – running until February.

To see more of Edward’s work visit www.edwardfosterart.co.uk