FOR the past 30 years, one of Britain’s greatest rock cartoonists, Ray Lowry, has led a quiet existence in his small Lancashire home — far away from his previous life in the star-studded limelight.

Now, armed with a collection of enough pieces of art to fill several museums, the man whose work was made famous by such publications as the New Musical Express and Punch is making a comeback.

The 64-year-old — who coincidentally shares a surname with the North West’s most famous artist — showed ys his previously unseen collection from the last three decades — which is now up for sale.

HOW long does it take to create a work of art?

About five minutes if you’re famous 1970s cartoonist Ray Lowry.

This skill and speed is down to years of practice, and practice is something Ray has never stopped doing since the very first day he picked up a paintbrush.

It was Ray Lowry's cartoons in the New Musical Express and Punch magazine that made him famous in the 1970s and 1980s.

And he really made his mark with his angry strip, Only Rock & Roll.

Ray was born into the rock and roll era and it was this love of music that fuelled his artistic creations.

He met The Clash during the Sex Pistols’ infamous Anarchy tour at the Electric Circus, Manchester.

His friendship with the band led to an invitation to accompany them on their 1979 tour of the USA.

From this Ray created the unforgettable artwork for the Clash’s London Calling album sleeve.

In his day, Ray was almost as famous as the bands he drew. Examples of his work have been snapped up and admired by collectors and celebrities including the late John Peel, Damien Hirst, Jon Squire, Patti Smith, Phil Jupitus and Don Letts.

But in recent years Ray crept out of the focus of the music industry and let the world pass him by, happy in the peaceful surroundings of Waterfoot.

Of course, he continued painting, but by then purely for pleasure and he began also creating not just cartoons but large oil paintings of urban landscapes.

For, contrary to popular belief, Ray is a very serious artist and not all of his work is in cartoon style and humorous — a style he actually admits he has grown to dislike.

It is a wide selection of work from his latter years that is currently being showcased at the See Gallery in Crawshawbooth, his first-ever personal exhibition.

Like many artists, Ray is no ordinary man. He is a true free spirit and an eccentric.

To have secured such a large selection of the works of a man who has kept his creations secret for the last 30 years is a coup for the gallery, in Binns Street, run by Jackie Taylor and Julian Williams.

“I like to be anonymous,” said Ray, still dressed in the fashions of the era where he found his fame.

He is proud of his work, but modest about it all the same.

“It is very strange to have my work displayed like this and for everyone to know it’s mine.

"I still have hoards of paintings at my house which I haven’t even brought to show. I have hundreds. I paint every day.

"They take me five minutes these days, it is no effort at all.

"I never wanted to show them off until now. The time just seemed right some how.

“I can’t ever stop painting. It’s a passion, not a job. I’ll admit to you I didn’t even enjoy the cartoons that much.

"They are not my favourite. I prefer working on landscapes and town scenes in oils.

"I just like to paint what I see. I am the other Lowry!”

Growing up in Manchester in the early 1960s, he was brought up by his father, a widower.

After passing his 11-plus exam, Ray was sent to the local grammar school where, he remembers: “Most of my friends and I showed little artistic or academic promise but cared fanatically for the most arcane areas of the holy rock and roll thunder which had crashed down upon us out of nowhere.”

After school, Ray drifted into a frustrating series of ad agency jobs in Manchester and London and, without any formal art training, began to paint abstracts and produce cartoons.

Eventually, with the emergence of underground publications such as Oz and International Times, Ray found a publishing outlet.

This soon led to better-paid work on the mainstream periodicals that made him a household name.

Hand-writing many of the invitations to the launch of his comeback exhibition, Ray takes great pride in his work and is both nervous and proud to be showcasing his collection, some of which will be shown in public for the very first time.

Also in the exhibition is a long series of colour images inspired by the 1960 British tour by American rockers Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent.

The tour ended in a horrendous road crash in which both were injured, Eddie fatally.

These images take Ray Lowry’s work to a new level and will eventually be compiled and published in book form.

l The See Gallery exhibition runs until to November 7. Paintings range from £30 to £600. For details call 01706 220 269 or email info@seegallery.co.uk