SCULPTURES commissioned by Chester Cathedral depicting nativity scenes before and after the birth of baby Jesus have been replicated in a Northwich gallery.

Former insurance agent Tony Evans, from Kingsley, has sold work in the V&A in London and is very popular with collectors.

His larger scene in Chester Cathedral shows Mary riding a donkey prior to Christmas Day and then on Christmas Day the baby Jesus will be shown as a second sculpture.

Tony’s exhibition is titled Catching the Moment and Northwich’s ArtWork Studios and Gallery, on Navigation Road, has a scale version of his work.

"Tony is a down to earth guy who loves to explain his working methods, which is particularly valuable to students and young people who wish to gain an insight into the artistic process,” said Carolyn Shepherd.

“Often we just see finished pieces in galleries, but by seeing the working process that Tony goes through to produce his work it really does demonstrate that experimenting and making mistakes is just as important in the development of a stunning work of art.

“We hope that it will inspire others not to give up on their creative attempts, but to persevere and have confidence in their ability."

Many people ask Tony to make sculptures based on their own horses and animals. He likes to catch the animals in motion and makes many loose sketches of the animals before choosing the pose he wants to capture in bronze.

Tony uses wire to make an outline model and then welds pieces of copper onto the skeleton structure to make the body shapes.

Some of the work uses recycled copper and steel and some is cast into bronze figures.

Tony is displaying his drawings and sketchbooks to show visitors the way he progresses from rough outline drawings to the foundry cast bronzes.

The gallery is open Thursday to Saturday, midday to 4pm except Bank Holidays over the festive period.