A HEREFORDSHIRE father and daughter are thrilled to have gained the distinction of both having paintings accepted for the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition.

For Peter Arscott, chairman of the Ledbury Poetry Festival, it’s the second year a painting of his has hung in the august rooms of the Royal Academy. But this year he persuaded daughter Nicky to submit a painting, too.

As Peter points out, the panel had no idea that they had selected a father and daughter’s paintings, as submissions are unnamed.

By chance, the two paintings, Peter’s Pie and a Fag and Nicky’s Motel Inn My Ass, now hang in the same room. “And what’s even more exciting,” says Peter, “is that they’ve both been sold.”

Two members of the panel were at Varnishing Day – traditionally the day painters went to the Royal Academy to varnish their work prior to the hanging, but now, says Peter, “just an excuse for a party” – and had no idea there was any connection.

No-one can establish whether a father and daughter have exhibited in the same year before. “But it’s certainly unusual,” says Peter.

“Eleven thousand paintings went past the panel as they whittled it down to just over 700, so the odds were against it.”

Like her father, Nicky has no formal training.

“Some people think you should go to art college in order to learn techniques and art history,” she says, “and in a lot of ways I would have done better if I had gone to college. I’d have known ways to put myself forward more and be more aware of the art world and how it works but in other ways I’m glad I didn’t.”

Nicky recently completed her third commission at Glastonbury, painting panels on-site for WaterAid.

“By not going to college, I managed to keep what I have always loved about painting. I haven’t had anyone try and tell me to do anything different,” she said.

She currently combines painting commissioned portraits with looking after her baby daughter, painting whenever she finds the time.

Peter Arscott lives and works in Ledbury and was the winner of the Galanthus Gallery prize at the h.Art Open Exhibition in 2008.

“I either use still life or the simple shape of the table as a starting point, aware that most of us associate still life with meals, displays, fruit, utensils, altars, rituals and so on,” says Peter, explaining how he works.

“These paintings are figurative in that they refer to objects – but because they are not copies of nature, they are also abstract to the degree necessary for paintings.”

Though Peter did once give Nicky a couple of lessons, she diplomatically says she thinks that perhaps she was too young, and “he was trying to make me do still life drawings”. She sees some common ground in their work. “I think our styles are very similar, but I don’t know if it’s genetic or whether I have copied him.”

Peter, however, doesn’t see it.

He said: “I am heavily into abstract which Nicky wouldn’t do, not ever. She’s a natural.”

They’re entirely in agreement, though, about how thrilled they both are to be in this year’s Summer Exhibition. “I’m really happy both of us were accepted,”

says Nicky.