A BUILDER with a passion for painting will feature on a BBC Two documentary about the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in London this month.

Bill Lowery, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is one of a group of artists followed in the BBC Two programme as he vies to showcase his work in the famous open-submission exhibition.

This year, Mr Lowery, 56, entered an oil painting he created after one of his regular sketch walks in Berwick, Northumberland.

Having already been shortlisted, the grandfather-of-three was interviewed by the BBC crew after presenting his painting to a panel of judges in London.

The documentary makers then filmed him at his home studio and contacted him to discover whether he had been successful.

Mr Lowery, who took up oil painting in the 1960s, said: “I was over moon when they asked to interview me. They filmed me leaving the building and as soon as I got around the corner I phoned my wife and said ‘you’ll never believe what has just happened.’”

The exhibition opens tomorrow (Monday, June 8) and runs until Thursday, August 16.

The documentary, Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, will be broadcast on BBC Two on Saturday, June 13 at 9pm.