AN ASPIRING Helensburgh artist is painting his way to success after being shortlisted for a prestigious international exhibition.

Thomas Cameron’s painting “Glasgow Botanic Gardens” has been selected from 1,400 submissions from across the world for the Wells Art Contemporary Awards.

The competition received the highest number of entries in its history following an international open call, and Thomas’s design was one of 123 works by 118 artists from 26 different countries chosen.

Explaining the motivation behind his masterpiece, Thomas, 26, said he was delighted to be included on the list, and added: “This painting is from a series I’ve been doing which focuses on botanical gardens.

“I’ve always been intrigued by the abstract nature of them, with the colours that are involved and the features of the glass with the condensation which appears on it.

“Quite a lot of artists have come from Helensburgh, which is inspiring, and this is a proud moment for me.”

The selection was made by a panel of leading figures from the art world including Caroline Walker and Tali Lennox, artist and daughter of singer Annie Lennox.

Thomas’s selected work captures the array of colours at Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens in addition to the renowned glasshouse Kibble Palace.

In the work, blurred greens and yellows are complimented by sharp red highlights – a shining example of innovation in oil painting from a young artist.

Since graduating from the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee, Thomas has exhibited in several high-profile exhibitions and now has a studio in Trongate.

He has also been awarded the Elizabeth Greenshields Award three times, an honour accorded to fewer than 100 artists since its inception in 1955.