A NEWPORT artist is the subject of new documentary by a Coleg Gwent lecturer as he moves his studio across the city.

John Sherwood, who left his studio at the former Cooperative bank building in John Frost Square in December, is one of the lead artists at the Empty Shops Project, which has offered empty retail units in Newport as spaces for exhibitions and workshops since 2010.

The old MFI building in Maesglas will be his new home, alongside other artists, the charity Healthy Planet and Tin Shed Theatre.

Mr Salvato spent four weeks with Mr Sherwood, and choose to focus on him because he felt his work and his story was one that needed to be shared.

“I wanted to make a film about John, not just about the art scene, because he has been the catalyst for attracting a lot of artists around him,” said Mr Salvato, who moved to Newport from southern Italy in 2002.

“He was invited to the Empty Shops Project to do an exhibition of paintings, but instead he set up the place as his own workshop and made his house there, attracting 50 to 60 artists there as well.

“The film is will be an individual portrait of a local artist, who is going through a massive transition in his life as he moves, not only his art supplies and artwork to a new building, but also relocates his life,” he said.

When asked how he felt about being the star of the feature, Mr Sherwood said: “It has been an enjoyable and revealing experience so far, with much more to come.

“The project with Massimo to record my life has involved all the people around me and our activities that relate to the wider community.”