ARTISTS Chris and Svetlana Purkis are celebrating the opening of their new Weymouth studio in time for Dorset Arts Week.

The couple, who are both members of the Castle Cove Sailing Club and have been living in Weymouth for three years, have set up the Marine Studio.

And they are urging art lovers to go in and have a look at their latest work between Saturday, May 25, and Sunday, June 9, at the studio at 29 Old Castle Road, Weymouth.

On show will be a combination of 60-year-old Chris's oil and watercolour paintings and glass fusions, which are made when metal powders and foils are trapped between two layers of glass and heated in a kiln, created by Svetlana, who is Russian.

Svetlana, 40, who has a 16-year-old son, said: "We love living in Weymouth and opening a studio is something we always dreamed of doing.

"We had a private launch and invited members of the Castle Cove Sailing Club to come along and see our work.

"We were very pleased with the reception we received.

"We have decided that any sales we make, ten per cent of the money will go to the club."

She added: "We are very excited about Dorset Arts Week and we are venue number 204.

"If we get a good response we may decide to open the studio to the public a couple of days a month.

"But anyone who would like a private visit to our workshop gallery can call us on (01305) 750467."