CONSISTENTLY high standards and a welcoming atmosphere have been established as hallmarks of the Whitehouse Gallery's approach to showing fine art and craft. The seriousness of purpose of the artists and makers on display in Kirkcudbright is never in doubt but this has been combined with an ambience which invites visitors to browse, to chat, to linger and to enjoy the variety of work chosen for each new exhibition.

In 'East meets West', artists from Fife have brought their work from the attractive fishing villages of the East Neuk to the attractive fishing town of Kirkcudbright - the important cross-fertilization process continues as it has throughout the last century or two in the south west, as artists influence each other to develop new techniques or ways of working.

James Barclay studied at Dundee College of Art before making a career as an art teacher. Teaching pupils and students to look hard, to separate shape and colour, form and tone from subject is one of the earliest and most difficult stages in art education - but one which James can demonstrate with considerable flair in 'Winter Solstice Morning'. A star-shaped pattern in black and white on a large canvas? Look again - more subtleties of tone, perfectly balanced, than on a Farrow & Ball shade card! This dramatic work rather overshadows the conte drawings and ink and pastel studies around it - but they show the strong draughtsmanship which underpins all James's work in the exhibition. While admiring his skill, the tiny ink drawing 'Sutherland Hillside' might catch your heart.

An Australian by birth and education, Kieran McInnes completed her studies at Central St Martin's and has now settled with her family in Fife. Her landscape and coastal studies in mixed media evoke the bright blue skies and wide atmospheric sweeps of the crisper climate of the east coast and often include an understated use of collage to add texture and strength to her compositions - as in 'Slipway at Fife Ness'.

Elizabeth Shephard's etchings include the colourful 'Reflections', a pink and blue print of the locally distinctive merchants' houses of the East Neuk, towering above the harbour wall. Also on show are the bright 'Josephine's Poppies' and the smaller, dramatic 'Petunias'. Elizabeth graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and is a professional member of the Society of Scottish Artists.

Judith Heald's small mixed media drawings are carried out as an important part of her practice, a continuing discipline for the eye and hand. They fascinate the eye of the viewer, as it tries to solve the small puzzle of marks within the frame. Her pastels of tree studies include the stately 'Summer, Cambo Park'. Judith studied at Glasgow School of Art and travelled in the British Isles extensively before settling in Fife.

'Carfin Bullocks' is a full-on, full face portrait in black and white - except for a touch of pink about the nose. Rufus McKidd learnt her craft at Gray's School in the granite city of Aberdeen but her acrylics and oils on canvas suggest a more rural background as they demonstrate her fascination with the subject of - cows!

A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, John Lowrie's landscape paintings are in mixed media and collage. Dramatic shapes and patterns resolve into 'Glas Leathad Mor', in which surface texture and cut paper add to the depth of interest. Tiny and intricate studies include 'Fife Fields' and 'Last Light'.

Ruth Walker also studied at Edinburgh and exhibits paintings which are rich in colour and surface detail. The large interior 'Talking things through' is in oil on canvas, the chalky quality of the paint suggesting the influence of the Borders painter Anne Redpath - and indeed, Ruth has won the 'Anne Redpath Prize' from the Scottish Society of Watercolourists.

A stimulating exhibition for all who enjoy high quality contemporary Scottish painting, which can be seen and enjoyed until the end of June.