Comedian and artist Jim Moir, Aka Vic Reeves, will return to Dartmouth this autumn with a new collection of paintings timed to coincide with the Dartmouth Food Festival.

Two years after his first solo exhibition at Dart Gallery, Moir will unveil Scran! On Friday, October 24.

Moir, 66, is best known to television audiences under his stage name Vic Reeves, through series such as Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out, Shooting Stars and The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer. Despite his long career in comedy and acting, he has consistently described visual art as his first passion.

He studied at the Sir John Cass Art School in London before turning to comedy in the 1980s, later becoming one of the UK’s most recognisable performers. Alongside appearances in programmes including Coronation Street and House of Fools, his art has been exhibited at venues such as the Royal Academy in London, the Biscuit Factory in Newcastle and the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight. His solo show, Dawn to Dusk: Birds by Jim Moir, at the Lady Lever presented more than 45 paintings of British bird species.

Birdlife remains a central theme in his work and features in the forthcoming Dartmouth exhibition. The new collection will also include 100 small paintings inspired by food, each depicting a single labelled item. Moir said: “It’s great to be back in Dartmouth again at the food festival; it inspired me to do lots of food painting for the show – I hope people like them.”

Moir’s fascination with the natural world has become familiar to viewers of the Sky Arts programme Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir, now in its second season. The series follows Moir and his wife, Nancy Sorrell, as they travel across the UK and Ireland painting native birds alongside guests such as Chris Packham, Mary McCartney, Stephen Mangan and Imelda May.

Known for bold colours and a mischievous style, Moir often blends surreal ideas with careful studies of wildlife. Critics have described his paintings as both playful and technically accomplished, reflecting the same eccentricity that defined his comedy career.

The Dartmouth Food Festival, which attracts thousands of visitors to the South Devon town each October, will provide the backdrop for the exhibition. Organisers expect the overlap to draw festival-goers into the gallery during one of the busiest weeks of the year.

The exhibition opens with a private view at Dart Gallery on Friday, October 24, from 6pm. Members of the public can request invitations directly from the gallery. Scran! Will remain on display until Sunday, November 3.

Dart Gallery is spread over two floors of an early 19th-century building located close to the waterfront in the centre of beautiful Dartmouth, Devon. Over the last three decades, It has earned a reputation as one of the South West’s leading galleries. The Gallery shows a constantly evolving collection of work by a selection of established and emerging artists, together with regular mixed and solo shows.