Graphic artist Paul Aldous, whose work has taken him all over the world, started dabbling in portrait painting a couple of years ago to try something new.

So he was amazed a few weeks ago to get a call from TV star Bradley Walsh's son asking him to paint a picture of them both to celebrate his father's 60th birthday.

Swanscombe-born and bred Paul, 56, said: "It came out of the blue. He'd seen my work on Instagram and liked it. I said 'ok then.'"

Barney Walsh, 21, sent him a photograph of himself and his celebrity dad fishing, taken from a scene from the television series Bradley Walsh and Son: Breaking Dad. Paul set to work in his spare bedroom which doubles up as a studio.

Two weeks later Barney arrived at his home in Manor Road to pick up his commissioned present and Paul handed it to him over the garden fence.

Paul said: "Barney liked it and he called me the other day to say his dad loved it. In fact, he cried."

Paul is a former pupil of St John's RC School,Gravesend, and also studied at Medway College of Art, Rochester, now University for the Creative Arts.

As a freelance graphic artist he has worked on the Walker's crisps' campaigns with Gary Lineker and Gordon Ramsay. He has also worked in China and the Middle East working on set designs with production companies for Miss World shows.

Paul also created window designs for the Guru Nanak Darbar Temple in Gravesend as part of a community project.

While graphics is still his day job, his portrait painting has really taken off through social media. Customers all over the globe are sending photographs to create family pictures in acrylic, charcoal and water colours on canvas.

Paul said: "Paintings have become the new photograph. People want a picture they can hang on the wall and hand down to future generations."

Paul said the fee charged for his work was confidential.

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