A CHARMOUTH artist was delighted to see her work showcased in a prestigious Royal Academy of Arts exhibition.

The academy's annual summer exhibition is the world's largest open submission contemporary show, which opens next week.

Vanessa Gardiner was one of only 1,000 artists to be chosen from the 11,000 works submitted this year.

Now in its 245th year, the exhibition is said to be one of the highlights of the arts calendar. Miss Gardiner, of Fernhill, travelled to Piccadilly, London this week to see two of her paintings depicting the north Cornish coast.

As a semi-abstract landscape painter, she works in acrylic on plywood or hardboard, doing a series of drawings first, and painting in her studio at the home she shares with partner Alex Lowery, also an artist, and daughter Jessie.

Miss Gardiner, who trained at the Central School of Art in London, chose two of her favourite paintings of Boscastle when she applied for the summer exhibition.

She said: “It's hit or miss whether you get in or not. It's a lot of work, they have to go through thousands of pieces.”

The 53-year-old progressed through several stages after submitting her work in March, but it wasn't until the end of May that she found out she was successful.

“I was delighted,” she said. “It's always an encouragement when you sell pieces and when people like your work because it's quite a hard career, working away in your studio in a certain kind of isolation.

“I had work in two galleries in London and the one I have been with for 12 years closed last year so I feel the loss of that so it's nice to have this public outlet.”

The summer exhibition, which features a wide range of artistic disciplines by unknown and established artists, opens on June 10 and runs until August 18.

Miss Gardiner went to the Royal Academy on Monday for 'varnishing day' and saw her paintings hung in the photographers' gallery.

She said: “In some ways it's a nice complement to have the other mediums there, the photographs and screen prints.

“I'm very pleased with how they've been hung.

“People were coming up to me saying they liked the work, so that's encouraging, and some followers of mine who have followed my work over the years said how much they liked the work and were pleased to meet me.

“That validates what you are doing ultimately.

“One paints for oneself but also for an audience. There's nothing like people buying a painting or saying they like it to encourage you.”

Miss Gardiner's work is regularly displayed at Sladers Yard in West Bay and she has an exhibition at the Art House in Bournemouth in July.

She mainly paints the landscape of the north Cornish coast but is currently working on scenes of Portland.