AN inspirational artist who started drawing after being diagnosed with cancer has his first exhibition in Clevedon.

Pastel drawings belonging to Mervyn Hewish, who has a studio at Clevedon Craft Centre, will be exhibited in the Toll House Gallery at Clevedon Pier, from 10am-4pm for all of December.

The 62-year-old, of Knowle in Bristol, began drawing after becoming bored of lying in bed and watching daytime television.

He said: "I spent a lot of time bedridden for the first few months of my illness and took to art as a way of concentrating on something other than the pain and discomfort I was in, which helped pull me through."

Mervyn was diagnosed with bladder cancer in January 2004, following a prostate operation.

He then underwent six weeks intensive treatment and spent much of the year in hospital having biopsies.

He said: "After the cancer was discovered, I had six weeks of horrendous treatment scouring the inside of my bladder in an attempt to remove all the dangerous cells. Throughout 2004 I was in hospital virtually every month having biopsies checking for the all-clear, but in November the result was not good and I was told the cancer was back."

In 2005 Mervyn became the first person in the West Country to have radical 11-hour keyhole surgery to remove his bladder, which was then replaced by a new one created from sections of his intestine.

Surgeons were able to contain the tumour in the bladder and deemed the operation a huge success, but 24 hours later his colon burst and he was rushed back into theatre for life-saving surgery.

As soon as he was well enough, Mervyn was sent home to recover, which is when he decided to start drawing.

He said: "Pastel allowed me to do 10 minutes work, return to bed to regain my strength, then get back up and carry on.

"It gave me something to focus on; even in bed I would think about how to tackle areas of my paintings that were problematical."

As he got better, Mervyn and his partner Andrew started visiting Clevedon, a place where he says he would love to live if he had enough money, and came across Clevedon Craft Centre.

He was invited to share a studio with another artist, which gave him the opportunity to use acrylic on large canvases and develop his work.

Mervyn said: "In 2006 I was offered the use of someone's front room for the Totterdown Art trail, where I was shocked and delighted to find my work was selling."

Since then he has shared exhibitions in and around Bristol and Clevedon, and had his first solo exhibition in 2007 at the Theatre Royal Bath. His work has attracted buyers from as far as Australia, New Zealand, America and Europe.

He said: "All this has happened while struggling with 30 or so operations, treatment and procedures, but I keep smiling because every day is a bonus. Without the skill and expertise of the medical teams, and the love and devotion of my partner, I would not be here."