IT will be a family affair later this month when a Fearnhead artist will display his work at a prestigious London gallery.

Max Mansbridge-West’s paintings were selected from more than 1,500 entries to appear at The Royal Society of British Artists’ annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries from March 21 to 31.

The 25-year-old impressed the curators with his self portrait, painted in oils, and a portrait of his sister Mica, done in charcoal and chalk.

The pieces will now appear alongside paintings by some of Britain’s leading artists.

Max, a former Padgate High School student, said: “I would have been delighted to get just one piece into such a prestigious exhibition, but to get two was a real honour.

“I feel particularly proud that my Mum and Dad will be able to see portraits of both their children on display.”

Max fell in love with art when he just a child.

He added: “I drew on anything and everything, even on myself, and my early drawings were usually monsters. I really liked drawing monsters because there are no rules – they could be whatever and however I wanted them to be.”

But Max only had the chance to pursue it professionally a couple of years ago when he saved money from a job in the kitchen at Le Bistrot Pierre in Stockton Heath to study at the London Atelier of Representational Art.

His first big opportunity was when three of his works Barry, Virginia and Venus were exhibited at the Society of Graphic Fine Art in London, the Royal Academy of Art in Bristol and the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead respectively.

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Max now has a studio at Bank Quay Studios and fully throws himself into his work, usually spending between 30 and 50 hours on each piece.

The former Priestley College student said: “The big difference is now being able to make a living from being an artist.

“I feel so happy, and lucky, to have the opportunity to earn money from sales and commissions.

“It gives me hope that I can make a career out of what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.

“I’ve always loved art because it’s helped me communicate my thoughts and feelings and art is particularly great because there are no rules and nobody can tell you that you got things ‘wrong’.”

Originally set up to rival the Royal Academy, a group of painters formed the ‘Society of British Artists’ in Lincoln’s Inn Fields in 1823.

Artists at that time were the equivalent of the celebrities, feted by the aristocracy and royalty.

Today the Royal Society of British Artists continues to promote the highest standards in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing.

Max added: “Given that I’ve mostly been working with charcoal and chalk for the past two and a half years and have only been painting with oils for about 18 months, it’s enormously encouraging to be selected for this exhibition and confirmation that I’m going in the right direction.

“London is obviously an artistic hub, so it’s always nice to go.

“Many of my art school friends are still there, and it’s great to meet up with them to talk about art, or to share the cost of a model so we can work for longer sittings.

“This time I’m looking forward to the opportunity to meet and talk to some of the other exhibitors at the open exhibition whose work I admire, such as Rachel Personett, Peter Brown and Lizet Dingemans.”

Max’s potential as an artist was first recognised when his teacher Freda Markham saw an abstract piece he had produced when he was about 14.

He said: “She arranged for me to take my art A-Level at the same time as my GCSE and I achieved an A and A* respectively.

“After leaving school it took me a while to realise that art was really the only career I wanted to pursue, and Freda, who is now retired, is still a great source of support and encouragement.”

That inspired Max to attend London Atelier of Representational Art which he described as a ‘game changer’.

He added: “Working next to one of the final year students and seeing how, in a matter of hours, he could bring a person to life on paper was mind blowing and it suddenly felt like it was possible that this could be my life too.”