KEN Burdon won his first painting competition at the age of six.

He moved from watercolours to oils as a teenager, concentrating on river scenes around his native Durham.

He pursued a career in commercial art - the whole spectrum of graphic design and artwork, including illustration, stage sets, and interior design.

And in the 1970s he set-up an advertising agency.

He now lives in Windermere and has returned to his first love, landscape painting.

Ken is holding an exhibition of his distinctive work at the Windermere Steamboat Museum.

His landscapes have a contemporary feel - a strong technique, finely detailed, a striking brilliance, some rich in one colour.

Shades of One Colour runs until Sunday, July 29.

The museum is open 10am-5pm seven days a week.

Further details on 015394-45565.