A Cumbrian artist is set to appear on a BBC television show hosted by Nick Knowles on Good Friday, April 19, as he and his brother prepare to showcase their talents at a major art fair.

Mark Hamilton, 55, of Upperby, Carlisle, will appear on Home Is Where The Art Is, which airs on BBC1 at 3.45pm.

The 15-episode series follows the DIY SOS presenter as he seeks to find the ideal piece of art for a different client each day.

In Friday's episode, wood and metalwork sculptor Mark competes against a mosaic artist from Liverpool and a woodworker from Manchester.

The show will see the artists visit the client's house to get a sense of their likes and dislikes, before meeting them to discuss their proposed commissions.

Two of the three artists are then selected to create their suggested artworks, before an eventual winner is chosen.

Mark applied to be on the show after receiving an email about it and was delighted to be selected.

He said: "It was a brilliant experience. It was totally different to what I thought it would be.

"I must have said the said thing 20 or 30 times from different angles.

"Nick Knowles was a good guy. It was lovely to meet the artists and everybody at the BBC was lovely.

"It's a lot of exposure for me."

Mark, a retired plater welder who worked at Border Steelworks Structures Ltd, has always been into art and, influenced by his construction background, became a sculptor.

He is part of a group of artists who set up the Carlisle Contemporary Arts Gallery in the city's old fire station.

The artistic streak runs in Mark's family as his brother Craig has also had a lifelong interest in the subject.

Craig, 50, who lives in Moss Bay, Workington, became a professional golfer after leaving school and in 1999 moved to West Cumbria to build and develop Whitehaven Golf Club.

Later he went into the car trade but his dream was to become a professional artist.

Unsure he could make a living solely as a painter, he set up a tattoo studio alongside an art studio, using his tattoo business to support him while he developed his fine art career.

Craig said: "Art means the world to me, especially portrait art. I think it’s the hardest discipline in art, getting the exact likeness and spirit of someone. I love it."

The brothers are preparing to exhibit some of their works at Art in the Pen, a contemporary arts and crafts fair which takes place in Thirsk on July 20 and 21.

Mark has attended the event several times but this is the first time Craig has beaten off competition from hundreds of other artists to be among the 150 to display their work at the show.

Mark said: "It will be the first time I have had Craig under my wing, so to speak."

Craig, who has a studio in Cleator Moor, said: "Mark and I had quite a polarised upbringing career wise but we ended up in the same line of work eventually.

"I'm looking forward to doing Art in the Pen together. It’s the North’s biggest art exhibition.

"It's hard to try to break into the art world. I’ll be exhibiting around 12 to 14 of my paintings on the day.

"As my career develops I hope to exhibit at more of these events."