People

Many artists dream of producing work that (a) fulfills them artistically and (b) makes people want to buy it. Former Nottingham Trent University student Simon Mitchell, has reached that point.

Add this to a good sense of humour, humility and a belief in affordable art and he may have a profitable career ahead of him.

Simon draws inspiration from comics, particularly from legendary British comic 2000 AD:

"I've always drawn since my mum bought me dot-to-dot books... then when I got old enough I got bought a comic, I loved the pictures, I kept buying comics from then on and I became one of those comic geeks..."

He's been selling work to people in America, Japan and Australia, and it's not just paintings. He's been selling his old spray cans. He explains:

"Because I use spray cans all the time I needed to get rid of them and you're not allowed to chuck them in the bin. I spray painted them and my fiancee thought they were wicked...

"They've been selling [very well], I get people from America sending me cheque's for cans, I can't really keep up at the moment with the demand!"

He's livened up an English countryside scene by adding a burning village and some rampant zombies.

He's also painted a child with a big forehead, in a dinosaur suit, on to a French cafe scene. But some people can't see the funny side, as Simon explains:

"Some arty women came in and thought it was sacrilege. I'm doing it as a kind of joke... it's only taking the mickey!"

Homes Live

Recently, Simon has been branching out into design.

Simon will be talking about his work on BBC One's Homes Live programme on Monday 8 October at 10am.