AN ARTIST will be showing his back to royalty tomorrow when he displays an award winning picture at Manchester Art Gallery.

But Richard Bannister will not intend to cause any offence to Prince Edward.

For he will be presenting a self-portrait - showing only his naked back.

Mr Bannister, of Midford Drive, Sharples, was selected as one of 20 winners in a national art competition called "Inspired by . . ." run by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to celebrate adult learning week.

He has been asked to present his self-portrait to the prince at the Manchester gallery.

Mr Bannister, aged 22, entered the contest after seeing it advertised on the internet last month.

He spent two days creating the piece with pastels.

"Self Study V" depicts him naked, with his head and arms drooped.

"It expresses the times in your life when things fall down and you don't know how to deal with your feelings," he said.

His inspiration was an abstract piece by artist Derek Jarman, entitled Queer, which hangs in the Manchester Art Gallery.

The winning canvas is much smaller than the work he usually creates, which can be as large as 6ft by 5ft.

Mr Bannister said: "I was really surprised when they told me I'd won. I genuinely didn't think I would.

"I'm looking forward to meeting Prince Edward."

The former Thornleigh Salesian pupil gained a firstclass degree in art and drama from Liverpool Hope University in July.

Since then, he has exhibited work in galleries in Manchester and Liverpool and is due to have an exhibition in Bucharest, Romania.

He plans to study for a postgraduate diploma in education at Bolton University in September so he can teach art to adults and continue his own art work in his spare time.