WAITING for a doctor's appointment can be a dreary experience. But one Gwent surgery has teamed up with a local artist to bring a splash of colour to patients' waits.

Roy Hall, 77, is an amateur painter from Beech Close, Llanmartin, and, like many keen amateurs, he found it hard to find an audience for his work.

He said: "I tried galleries and local museums but it's very difficult to find one which will hang your work.

"I didn't like the idea of the paintings just sitting around the house gathering dust with no-one able to enjoy them."

A solution presented itself one day while he waited to see his GP at Underwood Health Centre.

"There were a few posters on the walls, but looking around I thought perhaps they'd like my pictures here to cheer up the waiting- room." The surgery agreed and Mr Hall put up three paintings of flowers.

Practice manager Avril Fawsitt said: "It's very nice to have them and they look very nice.

"It's made us tidy up that wall of the practice which was covered in posters before."

Now Mr Hall says he thinks the idea is taking off. This week he was approached by Shaftesbury Court elderly people's sheltered housing complex in Malpas, Newport, asking him for some paintings.

He said: "They offered me money, but I refused." Now he is recommending other artists work with surgeries and community groups to get an audience for their work.