THE LATEST addition to an Olveston painter’s growing portfolio is a piece celebrating the village’s most important community members.

Angus Macaskill, who is well-known for his portrait of the late Labour MP Tony Benn and replicas of famous works but has, now put his artistic talent into painting some of the village’s most popular faces.

The freshly painted, three-panel piece includes five of the community’s valuable members.

Included on the canvas are the proprietors of the Crusty Loaf Bakery Jenny and Chris Curtis make up the first panel with the former landlord of the White Hart and now Olveston Stores member Stan Bradburn on the second panel receiving a parcel from the village’s well-loved postman Chris Clark.

The right-hand panel depicts St Mary’s Church’s long-serving verger June Robbins.

Mr Macaskill said: “I wanted to honour some of the well-known people in the village who make this community tick and are often out looking after us and serving the neighbourhood.

“These people are the wheels of the community and make Olveston a great little village to live in.

“It’s hard to protect these services which are such an important part of the community but these people work really hard and in turn brighten people’s lives in Olveston.”

Once the painting is taken down from the gate the painting will be cut into three pieces and given to the people featured.

Mr Macaskill added: “Before Christmas I intend to add Santa hats for all of them – but I will make sure that these can be removed later so that they don’t spoil the main portraits.

“I’m assuming that by Christmas the picture will be ‘Mixed Media’ being Oils, Acrylics and Blu-Tack!”