THE abstract paintings of June Houlding are as colourful as her life...

As a young woman she cooked for celebrities at a top London restaurant, shared a Kensington flat with actress Charlotte Rampling and became a globe-trotter.

Now, at the age of 65, she lives in a council flat in her home town of Accrington, where she is directing her energy on to canvas - with her fingers.

June said: "I started painting in earnest around five years ago and all my subconscious experiences came flooding out.

"I very rarely use a brush. My paintings are done by fingers.

"It's like eating food with the hands. You get the senses more acutely."

June lived in Accrington until she was 17 when she joined the WRAC and completed 18 months' service.

She began what she describes as her "wanderings" in her late twenties and moved to London.

She became a chef at the "La Popote" restaurant in Knightsbridge, mingling with celebrities including Princess Margaret, Rudolf Nureyev, Danny La Rue and Shirley Bassey. June then travelled overland to India and Thailand, via Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, from where she draws inspiration for her work.

She also worked in Australia for 18 months, then travelled back and forth to India.

June, who returned to Accrington around eight years ago, now lives in St James' Road, Church.

She said: "I miss the life I led and can't accept this old age thing. I still have a young mind.

"I started painting intensely and it seems the sum of my experiences and travels have come out in colour, shapes and forms."

Almost 80 of June's paintings are on display at Haslingden Library until January 30.

The library is open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 9.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 7.30pm; Thursdays and Fridays 9.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5pm, and on Saturdays from 9.30am to 4pm.

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