THE landscapes of this exhibition at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority head offices are by two contrasting artists and take very different forms.

It is the first time Lesley Knevitt and Mark Butler, who are employees of the authority, have mounted an exhibition. She is a painter and he is a sculptor. Each loves the Dales and their work both as artists and park officers, but there the similarities end.

Her bold, impressionist pictures, reflecting the colours and moods of the seasons, bounce off the walls. His tiles cast in bronze blend into the background. Only careful scrutiny reveals intricate contours, patterns and textures. Her work is visual and exciting, his tactile and subtle.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect is not the contrast or even this setting – the foyer is light and spacious – but that their art is informed and inspired by their jobs.

Neither has so far chosen to seek a living from art.

“If I did, I’d be painting to commission, which would mean doing what others wanted not what I want,” says Ms Knevitt, who gets up at dawn to feed and exercise her horses and is inspired by what surrounds her.

As a corporate services officer she is concerned with governance and compliance, data protection, freedom of information, equality implementing and monitoring, which sounds dull with little to nourish the artistic soul.

On the contrary. “I love it,” she says. “It’s a lovely place and way to earn a living.”

Mr Butler's work involves mapping at Grassington may have a more direct bearing on his art. Plotting common areas, rights of way and species distribution among other things must be ideal for a self-confessed map obsessive. His tiles take inspiration “from old and new maps, the history of the landscape and its current usage”, he says.

There is imaginative use of "found objects".

Embedded seamlessly and at first sight unnoticed in his Skipton map, for example, is a bit of wool crochet signifying sheep. A bootlace stands in for paths through the Three Peaks, and a tiny pewter walking stick shield with the ram’s head logo of the national park authority becomes part of the limestone landscape.

This is a fascinating and unique exhibition which expresses the personality of the artists as much as their dedication to an organisation that seeks to protect and enhance the landscape. It runs until Christmas; visiting times are Monday to Friday, 8.30am-4.30pm. For more information, call Lesley Knevitt on 01969 652326. Mark Butler’s website is at http://www.msbutler.co.uk.

Betsy Everett