THEY say a picture is worth a thousand words, but it might also earn thousands of pounds for a talented St Annes artist.

Watercolourist Peter Slater has had a painting selected for inclusion in the prestigious Singer and Friedlander/Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition, with the chance to win a share of the £30,000 prize money.

His painting, Light Refreshment, portrays a view of the cafe at the back of Lytham Hall and a man with his little girl caught in the sunlight.

The competition is one of the most valuable prizes open to artists in the UK. The first prize is £15,000, second prize is £7,000 and there is a Young Artist prize of £5,000 and three further prizes of £1,000.

Mr Slater, from Sandringham Road, was one of only 120 artists chosen from more than 1,000 entrants throughout the country.

His painting will be included in an exhibition which will be on show at The Mall Galleries in London from September 12 to 22 and will then go on tour to Leeds City Art Gallery, Manchester Town Hall's Sculpture Gallery and the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. Light Refreshment is the second picture that father-of-three Mr Slater, aged 57, has had accepted in the major competition. In 1999, his painting One Way to the Top was also selected for inclusion in the exhibition.

Mr Slater, who runs watercolour classes in Ansdell and used to teach painting classes in the Lake District, said that he was delighted that his painting had been chosen.

"I'm very honoured that my work has been included. A lot of the artists are southern-based, so to get in from the provinces is a high honour," he said.

The winners of the competition will be announced in this week's edition of the Sunday Times.