IT IS EASY to understand the great popularity of paintings by David Hockney. They are colourful,  often cheerful, and full of life. Until 23 August 2026, there is a delightful exhibition of his work at the Serpentine North gallery in London’s Hyde Park.

The highlight of the show is a series of prints of images that Hockney created on his iPad  in France. They are joined together to form a huge, long picture depicting the seasons in the countryside of Normandy in France. Entitled “A Year in Normandie”, it was inspired by the famous Bayeux Tapestry. However, unlike the tapestry that portrays military activities, Hockney’s twenty-first century take on it contains only idyllic views of a peaceful countryside, changing in appearance as the year proceeds. The result is wonderful.

In addition to the Normandy scenes, there is a good selection of Hockney’s portraits on canvas. Painted mainly during the last year or two, many of them include objects such as tables painted so that perspective has been reversed. For example,  the front of a table in a picture is painted narrower than the distant end of it.

All in all, this is a great exhibition.  It shows that advancing age need not be an impediment to creative artistic productivity: Hockney is in his late eighties, soon to be 90.