IT was a dream come true for Stourbridge art student Alexandra Mills when she won a national newspaper competition to see her work exhibited at London’s Tate gallery.

The 19-year-old Stourbridge College student entered The Tate/Times Painting Challenge in The Times and was one of 24 young people aged 11 to 18 to have her work selected and exhibited at the prestigious art gallery.

Alex’s painting Dream Landscape was picked out of more than 1,000 entries sent in by budding artists across the country.

Inspired by the colours in Leonor Fini’s painting Little Hermit Sphinx and the idea of dreams as a landscape like in Paul Nash’s Landscape from a Dream - the painting struck a chord with the judges who were looking for technique, originality and imagination.

Alex said: “I’ve dabbled with the surrealist style before.

“My painting was based on a photograph taken in Cornwall but I adapted it to suit the competition’s style. I was thrilled when it was chosen and it was a dream come true seeing my work exhibited at the Tate Modern.”

Patrick Caines, Stourbridge College’s art and performing arts manager, said: “We are proud of Alex’s achievement and this goes to show the calibre of art students we are lucky to have here at Stourbridge College.”

Alex is currently in the middle of a one-year art foundation course at the college and is planning to go on to study architecture at Bath University.