Kildare judge on painting show is surprised by talent of contestants

New RTÉ series Painting The Nation is like The X Factor because contestants are voted off if their brushwork fails to impress judge, Kildare artist Gabhann Dunne

Mr Dunne, 41, from Celbridge, said: "I'm very surprised by the talent. Originally I didn't expect the results to be as good."

In the show, seven amateur painters are given a series of challenges to push themselves to be a more professional painter.

The finalists, chosen from hundreds of applicants, come from Cork, Laois, Meath, Dublin and Wexford.

They form a diverse cross-section of Irish society - carpenters, geologists, full-time mums, students and grannies.

Mr Dunne (pictured second from left), who is joined by fellow judge Una Sealy, added: "They surpassed what I thought they would achieve. They really rose to the challenges and there were definitely some "wow" moments.

"I definitely found myself wrong about who was going to perform at the time and who wasn't - and so did Una. There are ups and downs the whole way along."

One episode sees the finalists painting portraits of model Roz Purcell - with mixed results.

Painting The Nation is screened on Sunday evenings at 7.30pm on RTÉ One.