A Darlington artist tipped to become one of the North-East's most sought after painters has been working on her latest creation in a shopping centre.

Megan Burford, 36, is close to completing a watercolour of Richmond Falls, which has so far taken 500 hours of work, and was happy to let shoppers in Darlington's Cornmill Shopping Centre see her at work.

Shoppers milled round the display of her artwork, which includes horse-racing scenes, local waterfalls and her pet cat.

Other work by North-East artists are also on display outside the Billy Bunter Cafe, in the upper part of the centre.

"I've always liked drawing and all through school I was doodling," said Mrs Burford.

"About ten years ago I started painting when my husband bought me some paints and said 'here you go'."

Mrs Burford has been commissioned by publisher Carl Pickles, of Crown Fine Arts, to produce the painting for his collection. He is paying her £1,200 for the work, which he sees as an excellent investment.

Mr Pickles said: "In the 1980s we had a guy called Alan Hunt who was selling his work for £200 each. His originals from that time are now selling for over £12,000.

"I believe Megan is better than Alan. In two years time you will not be able to buy a Megan Burford original for under £5,000."

He said: "We pay our artists above normal rates, and we find that encourages them to work harder and they produce even better work."

Crown Fine Arts is based in Thornaby. Teesside, but does not have a public gallery.

The exhibition will remain in the Cornmill until Saturday. Images of some of the company's holdings can be viewed on their website at www.crownfinearts.com or telephone (01642) 761883 for more details.