AN artist will showcase his skills on BBC1 as he seeks to win the favour of a mystery buyer.

Sculptor Chris Townsend, from Asthall, near Burford, is appearing in tomorrow's episode of 'Home Is Where The Art Is', where he will compete for a commission against two of his peers.

The programme sees the artists snoop around the home of potential clients to work out their tastes and Mr Townsend did not have to travel far, with this week's buyers based in Chinnor, near Thame.

It was a unique opportunity for the creator, who took advantage of the chance to display his work in a new light.

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He said: "Although I was excited about being invited to be on the programme, at the outset I thought the experience of being filmed would be pretty nerve-wracking: actually I enjoyed the whole process.

"I was delighted to have the chance to give interested viewers an insight into way I work and the process of commissioning an artist, showing the way metal can be formed from its raw state into meaningful sculpture that will last a lifetime.

"I’ve always loved to demonstrate my methods and talk about the materials I use and reasons my sculptures take the forms they do."

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Mr Townsend joined his competitors, a textile artist and a painter, in exploring the buyers' home, a terraced cottage in the centre of Chinnor.

The sculptor said the home 'showed an appreciation of nature', with the artists left a brief to design something uplifting that 'felt like jumping in muddy puddles'.

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He added: "There were also lots of little touches suggesting it was a home full of love, from pairs of things illustrating a close couple to a message from other family members on a chalk board.

"I had a strong feeling that they were real family people and so my proposal for a piece of metal wall sculpture reflected these values."

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The trio of artists went to the BBC's Manchester studios to pitch their ideas to the buyers, who he admits 'weren't quite what I was expecting'.

He added: "It was fascinating both to meet the personalities who lived in the house and hear the ideas of the other competitors which, although inspired by exactly the same environment, were very different from mine."

Mr Townsend was unable to reveal if he emerged victorious, but his studio will be one of many opened up as part of the Oxfordshire Artweeks festival, which runs from May 4 to 27.

The sculptor creates his works from steel, metal objects, stone and wood, with many of his ideas coming from the historic Wychwood Forest, near Witney.

'Home Is Where The Art Is' is at 3.45pm tomorrow on BBC1.