An artist from Oxfordshire who painted a picture of himself as a boy in the 1940s with two uncles he never knew, has been shortlisted to win a £15,000 prize.

Mick Rooney, 64, from Charlbury, is one of only seven painters in the country nominated to win the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2008, which celebrates paintings and drawings of artists who work from observation.

There were more then 800 entries from artists across the country.

But only 64 works, by 60 different artists, were chosen to exhibit, and, of those, just seven — including Mr Rooney's Brothers In Arms With Nephew — have the chance to win the top cash prize.

There are also five runners-up prizes of £1,000 and £2,500 for the best young artist.

Mr Rooney told the Oxford Mail last night: "It's always a great honour to be selected for a prize which celebrates the business of painting — I think it's wonderful, I'm very pleased."

The veteran painter said he was greatly looking forward to the show next month but remained philosophical about his chances of winning.

He said: "You might be the bridesmaid, you might be the bride."

Mr Rooney said the 5ft by 4ft oil painting he submitted for the exhibition came from a recent one-man show at the Fosse Gallery in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire.

He explained how the work had been inspired by old family photographs of his father's brothers Joe and Tommy, both of whom fought in the Second World War.

He said: "When my mother died I inherited the family photos. I thought the faces really ought to be celebrated.

"I would have had a fleeting glimpse of Joe when I was about two. He left me a rocking chair. But I never met Tommy.

"The painting is just a comment about the spirit of people in the past and a celebration of the unknown soldier. It's a meeting in time and space, an impossibility. It strikes a chord I think."

Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize spokesman Chloë Barker said: "In its fourth year, the prize champions the wealth of otherwise unseen and underrated art in the UK today.

"Mr Rooney has done extremely well as the competition was very high this year."

Tom Wise, from Kidlington, also has an entry in the exhibition, which runs from November 19 to 29 at Painters' Hall, Little Trinity Lane, London.