PAUL SMITH BORN: Northampton 1961 EDUCATION: 1983 Leicester Polytechnic BA Fine Art Sculpture 1985 Postgraduate Diploma in Art Therapy (St.Albans) 'This is magical art, pure, humorous and strong' Sister Wendy Beckett Art Critic Paul Smith is a full-time gallery artist, living and working on the edge of the Peak District National Park. His figurative sculptures re-interpret fairytales and fables for a contemporary grown-up audience. His version of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, for instance, has a modern twist; she is presented not as an innocent victim, but as a confident femme fatale. The style is bold and semi-abstract with graceful sweeping curves and simplified details, with a dream-like and contemplative quality to the sculpture.

Here be Dragons, hand built ceramic The Dodo and the Girl, hand built ceramic Strange Little Girl, hand built ceramic Deep Down, hand built ceramic Love in a Cold Climate, hand carved clay, 21 x 22cm Fox, hand carved clay, 11 x 16cm Wonderhorse, hand carved clay, 39 x 23cm Punch, bronze resin, 42 x 33cm, edition of 24   Queen for a Day, original watercolour and ink, 30 x 20cm plus frame, £350 Bearhugs, iron & polychrome resin, 42 x 23cm, edition of 24, £850 Watching the Northern Lights, marble & slate resin, 48 x 21cm, edition of 24, £850 Girl Looking up at Bear, original watercolour and ink, 37 x 25cm plus frame, £425 Up in the Air, original watercolour and ink, 50 x 39cm plus frame, £850 Beauty with Beast, iron & marble resin, 27 x 16cm, edition of 24, £575 Bearing Up, iron & marble resin, 56 x 16cm, edition of 12, £725 Leopard and Horse, original watercolour and ink, 30 x 28cm plus frame, £425