Almost 2,000 people cast their vote to choose their favourite piece of artwork in an innovative exhibition in Oxford.

As part of the Oxford Open, an exhibition at Modern Art Oxford, Pembroke Street, more than 500 pieces of work were submitted by various artists.

And visitors were asked to choose their favourites in a bid to stimulate discussion about what makes art.

A total of 1,887 votes were cast - and the winner of the public poll was Tim Watt for his oil painting of his friend Lena Bintley, Outside.

Mr Watt, who is a full-time artist and lives in Banbury, said: "I was really pleased. It's so much nicer when it comes from the public.

"I was surprised and flattered. There is so much work there, to be chosen is really nice."

He said of the exhibition: "I thought it was excellent. At first it seemed a strange idea to take the first 500 pieces that were handed in, I didn't know if it would work. But having gone and seen it, it works brilliantly."

Mr Watt's first solo exhibition, at Green College, Woodstock Road, called Fairytales, opened today and will be on display until Saturday.

Since the Oxford Open exhibition began on January 12, about 10,000 people have visited it.

During that time, 'guest selectors' picked their favourite works and gave talks about why they chose them - including Blur bassist and West Oxfordshire farmer Alex James, and a group of students from Oxford Community School.

Acting director and senior curator Suzanne Cotter said Oxford Open had been a huge success.

She said: "I am very impressed with the response to the exhibition, which has been really well attended."

The gallery has yet to decide if it will hold another open submission event. But Ms Cotter said the last exhibition of work by Oxford artists took place four years ago, and it was likely to be a similar period of time before the idea was resurrected.

The exhibition continues until Sunday.