THE Grand Canal of Venice shimmers below the ornate white stonework of the Rialto Bridge.

Closer to home, seagulls swirl above a coastal bay, boats are scattered across a harbour, and a lamplight shines on Saltaire's splendid United Reformed Church.

The striking watercolours are proving quite a hit with customers at Forster's Bistro and Deli in Bradford's City Park, where the artwork is currently on display.

What makes these paintings particularly remarkable is that most of the artists involved have never painted before. The paintings are by patients at Bradford's Marie Curie hospice, who attend weekly art therapy classes run by tutor Steve Davies.

Steve uses a step-by-step method to teach art, building his students' confidence until they feel ready to paint on their own.

"All the work on show is their own, and totally original, and is a testimony to what can be achieved with patience and a bit of confidence," says Steve, who runs classes at the Maudsley Street hospice's day therapy unit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

"Those attending are mostly day therapy patients, they can attend up to two sessions a week," says Steve. "I teach them the basics initially and can guarantee that in a couple of sessions they will be able to produce their own artwork, even if they have never really painted before.

"People often say 'I can't draw' and think they'll never be able to learn, but I have developed a system that helps them through that. It's about taking little stages at a time. I start by getting the group to paint a simple seascape - they see a picture of what they're going to paint and each of them produces a completely different image. Each has their own perspective and interpretation of it."

A particularly beautiful painting in the exhibition is by Michael Spencer, who has motor neurone disease. Michael's watercolour is of pretty flowers, with shades of blue and green blending together, creating a peaceful, tranquil effect.

Michael has always liked to paint and started attending classes when he came to day therapy at the hospice. Using an adapted paintbrush, his first painting was of a yacht nestling in a bay. Michael attends art classes twice a week and particularly enjoys painting nature and outdoor scenes.

"Michael picks out the watercolours he wants to use, and is able to wield his paintbrush," says Steve, who has developed systems to work with different conditions. "With motor neurone patients, we use a wet on wet system. This involves using tissues and sponges to make the paper wet too, they then drop the colours onto the paper."

Steve says art is a theraputic medium for people with life-threatening conditions, enabling them to focus on something other than their illness.

"People become engrossed in their work and look at it in a positive light, they become more relaxed as they concentrate on painting. It's a powerful diversion and has almost meditative qualities."

The Bradford hospice is one of only two Marie Curie hospices in the country with an art facility, the other being in Hampstead, London. Last year the two hospices were invited to exhibit patients' artwork at the Royal Academy.

"We're really proud of that," says Steve. "The art world can be very pretentious, but here we have mostly ordinary people who have largely never even picked up a paintbrush before. Once they start, some of them go on to buy their own art equipment and do it at home.

"Many people in the group paint local scenes, they like to paint what they're familiar with. One patient, who recently died, started painting three years ago and produced some beautiful Yorkshire landscapes.

"We are producing a calendar of patients' artwork and would like to hear from anyone who can help us with the graphics."

On Thursday Steve will be at Forster's Bistro and Deli leading a watercolour masterclass. "I will do a painting from start to finish to demonstrate techniques, and at the end of the evening I will auction off the painting in aid of the Marie Curie Hospice," he says.

A professional artist, Steve became an art tutor almost by chance. "I was a professional musician but in 1990 I became unemployed," he says. "I did a works scheme with Bradford Cancer Support for six months then trained as an art teacher at a series of night classes. I got work at Bradford Royal Infirmary and Manorlands hospice, then in 1997 I got a call from Marie Curie."

Steve finds it rewarding helping people develop new skills, and says it is humbling to spend time with people often in the final stages of their life.

"I have sat holding hands with people in the last stages of their illness," he says. "I hope that this art exhibition will raise awareness of what people can achieve, often in the final stages of life, and that it will also help dispel myths about hospices. The word "hospice" often conjures up an image of somewhere dark and bleak, but hospices are amazing places. People who come here speak of how uplifting the place is."

* The Marie Curie Hospice art exhibition runs at Forster's Bistro and Deli until September. The masterclass with Steve Davies is at Forster's on Thursday at 6.30pm. For more information ring David Harvey on 0784 9101293 or email harvey.d6@sky.com