A WEYMOUTH artist who is inspired by classical music has been nominated for a prestigious drawing prize.

People can vote for Fiona Robinson's work Ondine to win the People's Choice category of the Derwent Art Prize, which celebrates the very best artworks created in pencil by British and international artists.

Her drawing was shortlisted among 72 works from 3,299 entries, some of which came from as far afield as Japan.

Fiona has a studio in Upwey, Weymouth, and drew Ondine whilst listening to the works of French composer Debussy. Her drawings reference landscape, architectural spaces, music and literature.

Ondine will go in display in the Mall Galleries, London, from September 19 to 24 and British Irish artist Fiona is in the running for the £6,000 first prize, which will be announced on September 19.

"It's a good feeling to be nominated," Fiona said.

"I'll be back in London for the opening, which is really exciting."

After living in London and Cambridge, Fiona moved to Weymouth in 2002.

She said: "I needed to be by the sea and I fell in love with Weymouth after seeing the outer harbour on a weekend visit.

"My Irish heritage is a very important part of who I am and I spent a lot of time by the sea in Ireland as a child."

Being close to the sea has played a big part in inspiring Fiona's work.

She said: "I was awarded residencies in Ireland, where I have been given a free studio and living space to work in uninterrupted for a couple of months, both on the wild coast of Kerry and in County Mayo both of which places have spectacular seas and landscapes.

"There is a connection for me between the rhythm of the sea and the rhythms in music.

"This is maybe why I am making work in response to Debussy’s orchestral suite La Mer (The Sea).

"The Dorset landscape is spectacular too and although my work is abstract, everything that I see has an impact on how I draw."

Musical Fiona plays the piano and enjoys listening to piano works.

She said: "The artistic part of it is the way the music flows and moves. Music is at the moment the most important influence and reference for my work.

"I am currently working my way through Debussy’s piano music, playing it on the piano and drawing whilst listening to it in the studio.

"At the moment I am making drawings of Debussy’s L’Après midi d’un faune (The Afternoon of the Faun) which Debussy wrote in response to a poem of the same name written by his friend Mallarmé.

"A ballet of the same name was later created for the famous Russian dancer Nijinsky."

It is very hard to say how long one particular drawing will take her, Fiona says, because she is working on so many things at once.

"Physically doing the drawing can take up to a month.

"I build up my work in series making drawings to the same music over and over again often increasing the size until I feel ready to move on to another piece of music.

"In the past I have used the Bach Suites for unaccompanied cello, John Cage’s pieces for prepared piano and his piano piece In a Landscape."

Fiona has a BA in Fine Art and Art History and was previously shortlisted for the Jerwood Drawing Prize in 2012, the Cheltenham Drawing Prize in 1998 and the Rabley Contemporary Sketch Prize in 2011 and 2005.

She has won many awards including the Drawing Prize at the Royal West of England Academy Open Exhibition, Bristol, First Prize in the University of Bath Painting Prize and third prize at the 4th International Biennale of Drawing in Sydney, Australia.

A solo exhibition Fiona is currently working on will showcase the use of art as therapy.

She said: "It is called Drawing to Music, is open now and continues until January 2017 at the Musgrave Park Hospital in Taunton.

"This is part of of the Art of Life programme which aims to put art into hospitals to improve the environment for patients and visitors. I was very pleased to be invited to do this "My work is quite contemplative so it suits an environment when people are often distressed and distracted."

Fiona is also turning her artistic hand to literature and exploring the connections between the music of Claude Debussy and The Waves by Virginia Woolf.

*Ondine will be on show at the Mall Galleries, London, from September 19 to 24. It will then tour to Trowbridge Arts, Wiltshire, from September 30 to November 19. You can vote for Fiona to win the People's Choice award at derwent-artprize.com/