AN auction of works by eminently collectible and quitessentially northern artist Mackenzie Thorpe is being held in Wharfedale on Sunday.

Thorpe's prints, pastels and sculpture recall with nostalgia the wonder of childhood, dignity through labour and family love.

His works express across an entire range of human emotions, from the special bond of love and friendship, to the importance of self-reflection and individual triumphs.

Thorpe appeals to the inner child and creative spark in all of us with his optimistic and humorous joie de vivre.

But his works are also imbued with social commentary, desperately wanting to make the world a better place.

In some pieces, Thorpe becomes the Man of Sorrows with a black cloud of melancholy as a result of considering the world as it appears to be, as opposed to his utopian vision.

So he explores the inevitable desperation of mankind and seeming futility of the human condition, but then shows us that there is also hope and love.

Using animals as well as people, Mackenzie Thorpe depicts beautiful and poignant moments of our lives - moments we all understand and which we show our vulnerability.

Accolades for Mackenzie Thorpe have included a Best Published Artist Award from the Fine Art Trade Guild in 2000, an Honorary Master of Arts Degree from the University of Teeside, official artist at the 1996 Artexpo in Los Angeles and commissioned to produce Holiday cards for Elton John's AIDS Foundation in the same year.

The originals for his recent series 'The Game of Life' achieved new record prices for his work sold at auction in June this year.

Many of his early works which were published as limited edition prints have sold out, making this auction a rare chance to acquire pieces from a collection of popular work.

l The auction and sale of original pictures and limited edition prints takes place in Addingham Memorial Hall on Sunday (10am-5pm). More details on (01943) 603866.