Former coal miner Joe Scarborough brings a sense of theatre to his vibrant pieces, which are inspired by Impressionism and the drama of real life.

Each artwork features his signature four-inch figures and scenes reminiscent of the 1950s and 60s. Like Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, he first paints the canvas orange to create movement. The figures are then sketched in with a pencil, before raw umber is applied and dark lines are added once the paint is dry.

This piece is inspired by Sheffield’s Royal Exchange Buildings – a Grade II-listed site on a bend in the city’s River Don. Joe adds: “On Fridays, the steelworkers’ wives wait for their husbands’ wages before the siren call of the nearby pubs, Big Gun and the Royal Oak.”