A Kenilworth artist's painting of the town during the upcoming jubilee celebrations is set to be made into jigsaws to raise money for Ukrainian refugees.

Diane Shores' colourful canvas is her impression of the Warwick Road community picnic planned to mark the Queen's 70-year reign.

The painting is a mixture of real pubs, shops and Kenilworth people but also draws a lot on her imagination.

"I wanted to create a bit of social history telling it the best way I can, through my artwork," said Diane.

"It is my personal interpretation of what the social gathering, the street party on Warwick Road in Kenilworth, what it will look like.

"Obviously it hasn't happened yet, it is my own interpretation so I decided to include people like the mayor Cllr Peter Jones, the young musicians Daniel Barrie and Ellie Gowers, the lovely ladies of the Morris dance group, family members, Adam's little blue truck and of course the Queen."

Having been working on the canvas since late 2021, Diane shared a copy of the finished work on social media and was blown away by the response.

Such was the demand for copies she has decided to sell jigsaws as well as her usual A3 and A4 prints.

"It went onto Kenilworth Vibes a few weeks ago and I have had on overwhelming response from people asking for prints.

"As well as prints, for the first time ever, I have had a demand for jigsaws so it will also be made into jigsaws for people to order in time for the jubilee."

Diane, who has been volunteering in Leamington Spa collecting donations for Ukrainian refugees, said selling them for charity was the least she could do.

"All the profits for the prints and the jigsaws will be shared between the Ukrainian appeal and a local charity that I have yet to decide.

"With things going on in Ukraine at the moment, I feel very strongly that I want this to be something else that I can do to help.

"And I thought in these dark times a splash of colour and happiness will help to lift the mood for everyone."

And asked why she chooses to paint from her imagination rather than the landscape in front of her, Diane said: "I never quite paint what I see, it always has a quirky feeling to it.

"Everybody else paints what they see.

"I like to be a little bit different and just add something extra for instance during lockdown I painted flamingos on the zebra crossing on High Street, and hot air balloons over the castle.

"I just think it gives a really nice vibe. It is really bright and colourful, it was fun to do and it gives a nice picture of our town and people pulling together."

Follow this link to Diane's Facebook page.