FOR the tenth year running a Ledbury gallery has been singled out by the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour to host a prestigious exhibition.

The Shell House Gallery is preparing for its biggest show of the year with more than 250 original watercolours going on display from August 29 to September 30.

Paintings by the RI president, Ronald Maddox, will be on show, together with pictures by about 40 members of the institute including Worcestershire artist, Martin Caulkin.

Jim Ireland, who runs the gallery with his wife, Pat, and son, Jeremy, said artists come from all over the country and abroad to display their work at the gallery.

"Usually we just have a couple of artists' work on show and we display about 80 paintings, but this is just mammoth!" he said.

The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour was founded almost 200 years ago but only about 55 artists are accepted as members at any one time.

Mr Ireland said the competition to join the RI was very stiff.

"Artists have to submit six paintings to the membership committee but because the total number of members is kept to about 55, artists could submit for membership for several years before they get in," he said.

"They keep the numbers low because it gives the artists status and kudos. They have an annual exhibition in London when all members can put in six paintings but they also have about 150 spaces for non-members for which they get about 3,000 submitted pictures," said Mr Ireland.

But he said the Ledbury exhibition is almost as popular.

"We do almost as well in Ledbury as they do in London, which I know is hard to believe, but normally out of about 250 paintings we sell somewhere between 80 and 100," said Mr Ireland.

He said the price of pictures ranges between £150 and £1,500.

"We've already had people asking us for paintings just out of the brochure but if we didn't sell the pictures we'd never get the work because all these artists are chased by galleries from all over the country. In fact about 20 of them will be regularly exhibiting in New York, Paris and Los Angeles," he said.

The Ireland family's involvement with the institute began 25 years ago when Mrs Ireland opened her gallery in East Anglia.

"She knew a couple of members and they put their work in the gallery and then over the years more wanted to join. Eventually it got to the stage where we had about 15 to 20 members exhibiting so then the president said how would we like them all and that was the start of the official exhibitions," he said.

The Shell House Gallery is open between 10am and 5pm, Monday to Saturday.