A new art exhibition celebrating the beauty of dark skies has opened to the public at The Sill: Landscape Discovery Centre.

Aptly entitled 'The Magic of Dark Skies', the display features the works of six national and international artists, all of whom have responded to the theme of dark skies from their respective countries by using an exclusive range of soft pastels.

The limited-edition palette of 18 colours have been created by Unison Colour, a local handmade pastel company.

It was specifically commissioned to commemorate the tenth anniversary in December of the Northumberland Dark Sky Park, the sole gold tier dark sky park in Europe.

Victoria Byrom, creative projects manager at Unison Colour, said: "It has been an incredible journey working with such amazing artists and fantastic people at The National Park.

"It’s so lovely to see our wonderful pastels used to produce varied and beautiful paintings."

The featured artists, residing in far-flung locations including Maine, Norway, Devon, and Northumberland, have all portrayed their individual perspective of the dark skies.

The artists exhibiting their works are Matilda Bevan, Stephen Fuller, William Morrison Bell, Lyn Asselta, Kristin Holm Dybvig, and Amy Shuckburgh.

Sarah Burn, head of engagement, Northumberland National Park said: "We are delighted to welcome this new dark skies-inspired exhibition to The Sill.

"It’s incredible to see the varied responses to the beauty of dark skies from these artists from around the world."

This is not the first dark sky themed event held at The Sill.

The centre also hosted the 'Noctalgia: Dark Skies Matter' exhibition last December, which was dedicated to the celebration of the Northumberland International Dark Sky Park's tenth anniversary.

Supplementing the new exhibition, the centre will also host practical dark sky inspired workshops.

Activities include a soft pastels nightscape workshop and a course on creating one's own soft pastels led by Unison Colour.

Interested parties can book a place in these workshops through Northumberland National Park’s event guide.

The exhibition will be on display until May 12, and visitors can also enjoy a selection of student artworks inspired by dark skies, created using a mini set of eight specially selected pastel colours.