The Masters art exhibition, which opens at the McNeill Gallery in March, has been billed as a meeting between Harrow artist Alex Rennie and world-renowned Scottish oil painter Lawrie Williams, dubbed the old and new masters of British contemporary art.

New master is a monicker that Alex, 30, is reluctant to accept but visitors to the Radlett gallery have given him that title.

Alex says: "I'm not that comfortable with it, but that's what people say when they see my paintings; it's difficult for them to believe someone my age has done that level of work.

"Lawrie really is an old master. I went to visit him seven years ago after I'd finished university. It was good to see he was making a living from art. I visited his studio in Ireland and it was very encouraging to see that it could be done, you could make a career from it. People say you can't just be a painter, but thankfully I have. Lawrie gave me some good pointers and tips."

Comparing Alex's work to that of Lawrie, his mentor, over 40 years his senior, it's clear both share a fascination with reflected light.

Both artists also started young. Lawie was staging major exhibitions from the age of 16. He went on to Nottingham College of Art, University of Nottingham and L'ecole des Beaux Arts Paris.

Alex attended Hatch End High School, having moved to the area aged 10. He went to university in Wimbledon, where he now has a studio.

Lawrie's paintings are sought after by major institutions and collectors worldwide. He says: "I paint the first thing God made - Light."

Alex says Lawrie helped him to achieve effects with light and shade in his own work.

"Lawrie taught me how to do high highlights and about leaving ambiguous areas in a painting. We're both interested in translucent moments in paintings and moments of opaque light. His touch with a paintbrush is quite remarkable."

Both Alex and Lawrie's work share the richness and opulence of colour of the old masters. The ambiguous areas in the paintings are also present in the work of artists such as Reubens and Rembrandt.

One of Alex's paintings in his collection is a self-portrait in a torch bearer stance. I ask him if he feels he is carrying the torch for the new masters?

"I'd like to be, yeah," says Alex. "But for me, that painting is inspired by Caravaggio. I do a self-portrait every year in a Rembrandt kind of way. For this one I've chosen an aggressive pose where I'm staring at the viewer. It looks as if I'm attacking them but I'm just waving a paintbrush. It's as though I'm taking them on. It's a little bit dramatic and theatrical but that's ingrained, I can't really help that. I don't like to take myself too seriously. I like to attach meaning to objects and invent characters rather than just do a nude or self-portrait."

As well as figurative work, Alex enjoys painting buildings and still life. He says his work is diverse and ever-changing.

"I enjoy exploring a number of themes. I find it hard to sit still on any one theme so I'll have them running alongside each other, be it cityscapes or buildings around me. I've been working on the saturation of colour and lighting effects such as the glow of traffic and signs."

The show runs from Sunday, March 9, to Monday, March 17, at the McNeill Fine Art Gallery, Watling Street, Radlett. Details: 01923 859594, www.mcneillgallery.com