As a child, artist Martin Barrall often visited Bert's Tea Hut, in High Beech, Epping Forest, with his family to pick mushrooms on Sunday mornings before regularly visiting the spot when he starting biking as an adult.
The Tea Hut, which opened in 1930, has been a popular gathering for motorcyclists for more than 50 years and one day, Martin decided to capture the picturesque surroundings of them through a series of graphic and impressionist paintings.
The 66-year-old, who was born in Chingford, describes the Tea Hut as an oasis in the forest, due to the fact there is nothing else around it.
He explains: "It is an intriguing place. I've been going round it for about 60 years and decided to paint it at different times of the year, to show how it looks during different seasons. I've got one of it covered in snow, as well as a picture of the hut in autumn, as it looks beautiful at that time of year.
"I'm working on two new paintings at the moment that I'm hoping to have them ready for an exhibition next summer at the Royal Academy of Arts, in Piccadilly. One of the paintings is of Bradley, the hut owner, at his hatch serving tea and the other one is of a Sunday afternoon when a lot of bikers were gathered and you see a rain shower pouring down on them.
"The forest is beautiful and we're very lucky to have it. I love the hut as it is so interesting and is a magnet for visitors from different walks of life. A few famous people have been spotted, such as artist Grayson Perry, who cycles along there and it is also not unusual to see film crews there too and occasionally the cast of The Only Way Is Essex."
Instead of spending hours sat outside the hut, Martin prefers to takes photos of the views and then paint in his studio at home, particularly when the weather is colder during the winter months.
He says: "I take lots of photos but also sketch sometimes. However, I have to be fairly discreet as often I'll look and stare in the window and I imagine people will probably be wondering what I am doing!
"When I count up the hours I've worked on a particular painting, it usually adds up to a good few hours. Although that doesn't sound like a long time, a lot of time does still go into the work, as it can be spread over a couple of years and just put to one side for a period of time while you work on other things.
"I also like to make some of my paintings more accessible for people by making them limited edition, so I get them professionally photographed and printed up. I've done some really big pictures, which I've sold over the years and haven't got many in the house as most of the pictures sell quickly."
As well as selling his work, Martin has also made a living over the years as an art and design teacher in various schools and colleges in Haringey and Harlow.
He admits he is lucky to be able to combine his lifelong hobby with a career and has enjoyed the escapist feeling of painting since he was in school.
He says: "My passion for art began as a child when I attended the Coopersale and Theydon Garnon Primary School, in Epping. The head teacher's wife encouraged me and I won prizes in competitions when I was only about seven or eight, as I like to paint lots of rural pictures of the area.
"I come from an artistic family, as my mother Waltraude was an illustrator and a German lady who trained in Berlin. She loved to paint, even right up to when she died a few years ago and we even used to go out and paint together, so I have so many fond memories of art."
To find out more about Martin's work, contact him on: kimmbarralldesign@gmail.com

By Rachel Russell