A PROUD artist has been given the honour of exhibiting his portrait of the Queen at tomorrow's Sandringham Flower Show.Dick Wolsey has used a mixture of styles to create the one-metre-square portrait, which is the centrepiece of his collection of 15 paintings to be on display at the event.

A PROUD artist has been given the honour of exhibiting his portrait of the Queen at tomorrow's Sandringham Flower Show.

Dick Wolsey has used a mixture of styles to create the one-metre-square portrait, which is the centrepiece of his collection of 15 paintings to be on display at the event.

His three works with a royal theme also feature a portrait of Prince Charles and a painting of the back terrace of Sandringham House, which will be shown alongside landscapes of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Mr Wolsey, of Worlingham, near Beccles, is a 51-year-old former Norfolk police officer who was involved with policing at Sandringham and will return to the show for the third consecutive year as an artist.

He based the painting, using acrylic and oil on canvas, on a photograph he took at a reunion, hosted by the Queen, of police officers who were familiar faces at Sandringham at one time.

'I took it while she was having a conversation,' he said. 'It's very simple but I thought: 'That's charming.'

Mr Wolsey said his portrait of the Queen mixed abstract with realism, and added: 'It's not a direct lift from the original image. I'm pleased with how it has turned out.' Describing his style, he said: 'It's expression-istic: it's got a life and a style. I like the use of colour: bright and bold and happy.'

He said his royal portraits had previously been given a good reception. 'This will equally stop people in their tracks. I'm fairly confident people will warm to it.'

Mr Wolsey, who has to fit his passion around working full-time at his job in health and safety at Norfolk Constabulary, only produced his first painting in 2006, since when he has become a prolific painter.