By Angela Heslop BBC Radio Merseyside

Sir Paul McCartney's exhibition of paintings and sculptures at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool is the former Beatle's first British retrospective and has attracted worldwide attention.

But is it good art, or just hype? Entering the starkly white gallery I was immediately struck by his use of colour, bold reds, yellows and blues, splashed across large canvasses.

The subject matter is diverse, from Arizonan Landscapes to Paul's Merseyside upbringing and his late wife Linda.

Sir Paul with Big Heart

A sense of humour and enjoyment of life are strongly represented in the works. I particularly enjoyed Egypt Station which sees a number of objects including sunflowers and a seated dog waiting for a train that never arrives.

Vast open spaces are a favourite of the artist, and Red Triangle Sand is one such example, full of light and colour.

Unlike John Lennon, Paul McCartney didn't go to art school and that inhibited his confidence. This changed on meeting American artist William de Kooning, whose free and easy style of painting appealed to Paul. From the late 1980s he started to paint regularly.

His interest in art was encouraged by Linda McCartney and she features in several works in the exhibition. There's a striking portrait Hottest Linda and another Yellow Linda With Piano.

Artist Peter Blake has supported Sir Paul's desire to paint, although you won't see any influences in the exhibition; if there is any resemblance to work by another artist, then it's the surrealist Magritte.

Sir Paul McCartney with Heather Mills on Thursday

The catalogue accompanying the exhibition mentions gallery owner Robert Fraser visiting Paul in London and leaving behind a small painting by Magritte.

It showed a big green apple, with Au Revoir written across the canvas, and that formed the basis for the world famous Apple logo.

Much of the art on show is refreshing and vibrant and visitors to the Walker have been reacting favourably to the paintings and sculptures.

Some are surprised that Sir Paul has been able to produce such work, others are delighted to see another talent displayed by their renaissance man.