AN Ilkley resident has swapped greasepaint for water colours to create a fresh career on canvas for himself.

Having left the popular comedy group, The Grumbleweeds, Maurice Lee is hoping to make an exhibition of himself - as a successful painter.

The Grumbleweeds have been in the limelight for more than 40 years and they are still as popular as ever, with their own radio show. At the moment they are starring in pantomime in Wolverhampton and during the summer months they will be hosting their own show in Blackpool.

Three of the original band members will be opening the British Society of Painters Spring Exhibition on Saturday, March 8 at the Kings Hall/Winter Garden complex on Station Road, Ilkley.

Originally there were five members of the comedy band but now there are only two. Maurice Lee, the straight man, playing guitar and vocals, was the last to leave to concentrate on his love of painting.

Until moving to Ilkley recently, he ran a successful gallery in Hawes, selling his own views of the Dales Countryside.

At the opening of the exhibition he will be presenting two of his friends from the band and exhibiting his own paintings and drawings, which include a watercolour of a flower exhibition at the King's Hall.

The Spring Exhibition is now fully booked and even over subscribed by artists wishing to show off their works.

There will be 1,295 original paintings on show by around 200 artists and around 6,000 people are expected to attend. About 30 per cent of the paintings on show are expected to be sold.

Organiser Lesley Simpson said: "All the leading companies in the art world descend on the show as they know that is where any new talent will be lurking."

The exhibition will run from March 8 to March 16 and will be open daily from noon until 5pm. Entrance fee £2.50.

In a return to his showbiz career, Mr Lee will be holding an evening of songs and jokes at the Crescent Hotel, Ilkley, on April 12, in aid of the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity. For tickets and further details telephone 01943 877516.