Paul Merton with friend Rob Conybear at his Swansea studio

Rob Conybear, a close friend of the Have I Got News For You star, is working on sculptures for a one-man exhibition in Swansea next year.

Merton said: "It's a chance for Rob not to have any financial worries for the next couple of years and really go for his art."

The pair met at the Swansea Fringe Festival in 1980.

Conybear said the offer to support him was in a long history of patronage.

"Patronage and sponsorship is important," said Conybear. "This time it's sponsorship from a comedian to a fine artist, which is almost unheard of."

"The most famous was Van Gogh and his brother Theo - Van Gogh only did 10 years of productive work but without his support there wouldn't have been this legacy."

Rob Conybear helped Merton when he first started on the comedy circuit

Merton added: "For something like this, you need an awful lot of time and the money to give you the time to get it done.

"I've become an old fashioned patron of the arts. I think Tchaikovsky had someone similar - 'go out and write the music and I'll pay the bills'.

Conybear, the son of a steelworker, is working in the metal, as well as producing drawings.

Jane Phillips, of the Mission Gallery, where the exhibition will open in September 2006, said: "Robert can take on board any sort of medium. He's working in steel at the moment but he's a fantastic draughtsman.

"Part of the culture he was brought up in means he's gone back to working in base metals and copper."