AFTER moving to Warwick at age 80, Dennis Hope is preparing for his final exhibition which starts at the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery late this week.

The exhibition is called Finale and will be at the gallery in Weeronga Park to February 18 in conjunction with exhibitions by Brisbane artist Leigh Schoenheimer and Stanthorpe State High School.

Mr Hope has held exhibitions in some Warwick churches since moving to the town and organised large exhibitions at Boonah in 2013, the Warwick Regional Art Gallery in 2014, Gatton in 2015 and now Stanthorpe. His one overseas exhibition since moving to Warwick was in London in 2012 when he sent 40 works to the exhibition and sold 17.

He has drawn 772 paintings and designs with great use of illustrations and water colours. He built the first sculpture at a school in New South Wales at Narwee High School in Sydney in 1968, an eight-tonne sculpture made of steel and concrete showing a teacher, two pupils and the tree of knowledge growing into each of them.

One of the fondest memories of his working life was joining with his wife Marjorie to design and build an art gallery in Armidale, New South Wales.

"We catered for tourist parties from Sydney and organised lunches at our gallery,” he said.

Mr and Mrs Hope moved to Queensland and lived at Cooroy and North Lakes before deciding to move to a smaller community. Since settling in Warwick, Mr Hope has done drawings of 68 buildings on the Southern Downs.

His exhibition in Stanthorpe will include 76 works. All scenes are in pen, ink and water colours of buildings, railway engines, birds, other animals, boats and vehicles.

There will be drawings from Warwick, Allora, Yangan and Killarney on show at Stanthorpe including the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney building in Killarney, the Warwick Court House and the Yangan Masonic Temple.

Mr and Mrs Hope will be at the official opening of the exhibition on January 12, four days before their 58th wedding anniversary.

He will turn 88 on February 9 and believes the time is right to move on to a different form of art works. Stanthorpe gallery open 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am-1pm at weekends.