Around the world in 2000 paintings

Preston artist Martyn Hanks has spent 60 years globetrotting with his paints and brushes

- Paul Mackenzie

An artist from Penwortham has spent 60 years travelling around the world and has created more than 2,000 intricate paintings of the places he has visited.

Martyn Hanks, 79, has travelled to 152 countries over the last six decades, but instead of taking photographs he painstakingly creates watercolours of his travels, which cover the walls of his home.

His paintings show the everyday lives of people around the world, as well as popular tourist destinations. His watercolours range from farm scenes in Snowdonia and the typical interior of a house in Japan to the building of the Sydney Opera House and the stunning landscape of the Grand Canyon. Other pictures show women sorting stones in Jaflong in Bangladesh, cricketers in Barbados and people washing clothes in Iran.

Martyn, who is now selling his prints online for the first time, said: ‘I’ve got most of my pictures on my walls, I don’t bother with wallpaper. I love travelling and they are a wonderful reminder of everywhere I’ve visited.

‘When I first started travelling in the early 1960s, I painted to pass away a spare hour, but I soon realised I got a lot of pleasure from it and as the years went on it became my main reason for travelling, giving a real purpose to my trips.’

Whenever he travels, he carries his watercolour paints and brushes and uses a 14 inch by 10-inch canvas as it fits neatly in his rucksack.