THE realisation that there was much more to painting than cleaning brushes and whitewashing walls opened up a whole new life for Walter Riley.

Walter, of Blackburn Road, Great Harwood, left school at 15 with no qualifications but a talent for drawing and painting.

But now 45 years on he has gained an Honours Degree in Fine Art from Wirral Metropolitan College.

He started off as a painter and decorator and developed creative crafts like graining, marbling, and ragrolling alongside his ordinary jobs of hanging wallpaper and painting.

Walter even achieved national recognition in his new skills, demonstrating them on TV and at local colleges.

By day Walter was still decorating people's homes but at night was studying for O-Level and A-Level art at night school.

It wasn't easy but with perseverance and the support of his wife Doreen, daughters Mandy and Angela and stepson Gary, he finally passed his exams with flying colours.

Samples of his work may be on display at Haworth Art Gallery during the Mayor's Muse in September and at a later exhibition in December.

He describes his personal style as figurative and observational and hopes to get into portrait painting.

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