A professional artist who is renowned for his paintings of urban landscapes has announced he will be doing a 'sketchathon' for charity.

Hugh Winterbottom, who was born and raised in the Moorside area of Oldham, has been painting urban landscapes from across the North West since the late 1990s.

The 49-year-old said he is most fond of painting Manchester, his hometown, Oldham, and surrounding towns and villages in a modern impressionistic style.

But he will also paint landscapes from his imagination and drawing inspiration from life.

Mr Winterbottom said: "I spend a lot of time on location, sketching and getting to know my subject.

"When you sketch something, you’re observing with great intensity and you memorise every inch of what you are sketching.

"The medium I use is oil on canvas, and rather than brushes I prefer to work with pallet knives.

"I think that this is what gives my paintings a strong and vibrant appearance."

Describing his style as 'modern impressionistic', he has gone on to exhibit his work including his first major solo exhibition at Salford City art gallery in 2015.

His exhibition, called Now The North, consisted of 50 paintings which took the artist two years to complete.

Mr Winterbottom painted from the centre of Manchester and outwards toward the many towns, villages and picturesque countryside scenes that hug the city.

He then went on to paint Victoria Station following a commission by Network Rail in its £44 million renovation.

Last year, he held a joint exhibition with Liz Ackerley at Gallery Oldham, titled Landscape Inside Out, which consisted of local landscape paintings.

Now, Mr Winterbottom is planning his next major project which will see him complete a 'sketchathon' from Piccadilly Gardens to Oldham's Parliament Square for charity on August 26 this year.

He said: "I will pick locations that are iconic to Manchester and Oldham - and lesser known places.

"I do like a good backstreet.

"I may also choose a coffee shop or pub to do some interior sketching.

"As I sketch largely in the open, the weather plays a part too."

As well as the environment around him, Mr Winterbottom said he also plans to sketch some people as he hopes to do a separate page of people on the tram or in a coffee shop or a park.

He added: "I would like to produce eight sketches altogether and also sketches of people, but you never know I may produce more."

Mr Winterbottom has decided to raise money for Save the Children charity as he said it "does good work, not only in this country but in 115 other countries."

As for his finished sketches, he hasn't decided what to do but might consider auctioning them off for charity.

Donations to his fundraiser and Save the Children can be made by visiting his GoFundMe page here.