American painter Tom Clifford will be exhibiting a collection of his work in Dartmouth next month.

The 81-year-old artist, who specialises in portraits and seascapes, will be displaying 25 paintings at the Flavel centre, including a recently completed portrait of the ancient warrior Queen, Boudica.

It will be the first exhibit of the veteran painter’s work in Devon, having moved to the county just over a year ago from the US.

Mr Clifford, who was raised in Connecticut, said he drew inspiration from ‘the Old World’ after first travelling to England in 1961 with his grandfather, an irrepressible anglophile who introduced him to the country’s “magnificent cathedrals and castles”.

His latest work, titled ‘Iceni Dawn, Boudica’, is his impression of what the fierce Queen might have looked like.

“Everyone’s interpretation is different. I did my thing, which is ‘striking red-head’ with glaring eyes – I tend to start with the eyes – and blue bolts on the face,” he said.

Mr Clifford completed his first oil painting at the age of 16 and later enrolled in a correspondence course started by Norman Rockwell, one of North America’s most important 20th Century painters.

He went on to study at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in London and describes himself as having a traditional approach to art, being especially fond of the northern Renaissance painters, Rembrandt and Vermeer.

“I like dark backgrounds and to create a sense of history, even mystery in my work. When it comes to my depiction and interpretations of the sea, I feel the movement and flow develop as I work, a factor that contributes to my love of marine painting,” he said.

His stirring painting of the ill-fated liner Titanic, which sank in 1912 after striking an iceberg with the loss of 1,500 lives, is particularly poignant.

“My grandfather was supposed to be on the Titanic – the tickets were booked. His mother was pregnant at the time but put her foot down and decided to have the baby in England instead,” he said.

The Tom Clifford exhibition at The Flavel Arts Centre runs from June 3-June 14.