Still life painter up for Turner

Gillian Carnegie's Fleurs de Huile shows off her still life work

Painter Gillian Carnegie has been installed as the early favourite to win this year's Turner Prize.

Turner judges have broken with recent tradition to shortlist Carnegie, an artist working in conventional genres such as landscapes and still life.

Darren Almond, whose work includes photography and video, has also made the shortlist, alongside installation artists Simon Starling and Jim Lambie.

The overall winner of the Turner Prize will be announced on 5 December.

Bookmaker William Hill made Carnegie even-money favourite to win the award, followed by Starling with odds of 3/1. Almond and Lambie were both classed as 4/1 outsiders.

The four artists will create new pieces especially for a Turner Prize exhibition at the Tate Britain museum in London, which opens on 18 October.

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A virtual tour of the Turner Prize exhibition will be created at mainline UK train stations in the hope of bringing the shortlist to a new audience.

Wigan artist Darren Almond, whose work has been shown at galleries in London and Germany, addresses themes of time, geography and memory.

He uses a mixture of genres including sculpture and film to explore the passing of time.

Simon Starling, who is based in Glasgow, has also exhibited around the world with his work recycling materials and objects to create new installations.

Glasgow-born Jim Lambie references pop and youth culture in his installations, transforming everyday items with glitter and coloured tape and filling entire rooms.

Frivolous criticisms

Last year's competition was won by Jeremy Deller for his video about US President George Bush's home town in Texas, and the Waco siege of 1993.

The four shortlisted artists primarily worked in film to create their exhibition pieces.

Sir Nicolas Serota, chairman of the Turner Prize judging panel, said: "The shortlist shows the extraordinary depth of both experience and talent in British art.

The shortlist shows the extraordinary depth of both experience and talent in British art Sir Nicolas Serota, Turner Prize judging panel chairman

"That we can make another shortlist that's as strong as this tells us a great deal about the strength of British art shows from an international perspective."

The prize was set up in 1984 to showcase new developments in British art and promote discussion of visual arts.

There has been criticism in the past that it has overlooked traditional crafts in favour of conceptual art.

Eligible artists must be under 50 years old and have impressed the judges in the year leading up to the announcement.

The eventual winner will receive a cheque for £25,000, while each of the shortlisted artists gets £5,000.