AN artist, who has already earned a national reputation for his work, is to take to the international stage.

Mackenzie Thorpe, of Richmond, has outgrown some of the London galleries where his paintings have been shown in the past.

As a result of his growing reputation, he has had to think bigger for an exhibition which opens this weekend, taking 10,000sq ft at the Birmingham Museum of Art.

About 500 people have been invited to a private viewing on Saturday, with 1,000 the following day. The event marks the start of a year which could see the artist take on the world.

Directors from 14 galleries in the US, already exhibiting his paintings, will be flying in on Friday and, after they have seen the Birmingham exhibition, they will be brought to Richmond, to visit the Thorpe studios, the town itself, the Dales, and Middlesbrough, where the artist was born.

Mr Thorpe then sets off on a tour, lasting until December, taking in most of the UK and major cities in the US.

At his studios yesterday, the artist admitted he was a little nervous.

"It is the biggest thing I have ever done. Silly things go through your head, like what would happen if no one turned up - but it is exciting too," he said.

New work on show this weekend includes a bronze of a shepherd and his sheep, similar to a millennium statue once proposed for Richmond.

Another new sculpture is of a boy holding a heart under his arm - entitled Life - which Mr Thorpe will paint just before the exhibition opens.

"The rocket is fuelled. It is just a matter of firing it and waiting to see where it lands,'' said Mr Thorpe.