ARTIST James Naughton spoke to art students about his latest exhibition.

Mr Naughton is an artisit-in-residence at the University of Bolton and he spoke to fine art undergraduates and MA students about his career and the exhibition, Naughton and Moran: Paintings of the American West.

The exhibition is the result of a year-long Arts Council funded project that saw Mr Naughton follow in the footsteps of renowned American landscape artist, Thomas Moran.

Mr Naughton visited some of Moran’s most famous sites, including Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Teton Range in the Grand Teton National Park, and created new works inspired by Moran’s paintings.

He said: “I did my foundation in fine art here in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

“Following on from that I worked here full-time, and then part-time, as a technician in the library. That was during a really crucial period of my career when I was trying to get my painting off the ground.

“It’s absolutely fantastic to be back at Bolton. It’s been a real privilege to come here and to produce work with the hubbub of university life. I normally live quite a solitary existence and so to just be back here with all the people and staff I know feels like coming home.”