Artists who use a variety of media and experiment with any subject matter which takes their fancy usually command the attention of a wide audience.

One artist who has strived to achieve this is Molly Russell-Smith, of Beckenham, who is currently exhibiting at The Studio, in Beckenham Road.

The show, called Retro Spectrum, is set up in two rooms. The first contains what the artist describes as "vivid abstract prints" while the second has a mix of work from oil paintings to collages.

She told Leisuretime: "I have no favourite medium, I use anything and everything to hand. Preferring one over the other is to compare two very different things."

The work dates from 1940 to the present and combines themes from the past with bright and varied colours.

Smith describes the show as a "mixture of retrospective and colour covering my period of work. It includes paintings and prints, figurative and abstract work.

"The message I am trying to get across is passion for life. I do this through the use of colour. I also worked as a poet and hope this experience blends with my experience as a painter."

The artist has worked with a variety of creative talent. She attended the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing as a pupil of Frederick Morris and Lett-Haines. Great names from this school include Lucien Freud, who recently painted a controversial portrait of the Queen.

Smith went onto exhibit at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition four times but in the past two years has entered a period of experimental work. This can be seen in the first room containing mono-prints, masking out of lino and one painting which stands out called Coming This Way, which is an exploration of colour and pattern.

But what is her favourite piece of work? "Empty Home painted in 1940 but, above all, I'm just chuffed to see it all up there."

- Retro Spectrum, The Studio, Beckenham, until Aug 30, 10am-5pm Tues-Sat, free, 020 8663 0103.