AN artist who specialises in miniature paintings has won two awards.

Gina Morton, from Darlington, was awarded the Anthony J Lester Critics Award and the Connoisseur Commendation Award, at the Royal Miniature National Awards, in London.

Vanessa Remington, Keeperof the Queen's Pictures, presented the awards to the 61-year-old for her 3sq in painting titled Clydesdales: Hope and Glory.

Miss Morton, a member of Darlington Society of Art, said: "They very rarely give out a commendation award, but it was said that my work very much stood out from the crowd." The paintings, which can measure as little as 3in by 2.5in, can take up to 40 hours to paint, up to 30 times longer than Miss Morton's "normalsized" watercolours.

Miss Morton is a member of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Engravers, which was founded in London in 1895 and promotes artists who create small-scale art. Her work has previously been on display in Moscow at the World Federation of Fine Art inMiniatures.

Her work can be seen at the North East Art Collective's exibition in Eldon Square, Newcastle, and the Showcase Gallery, in Richmond, North Yo rkshire.