A WEST Devon artist will be fulfilling a lifelong ambition to use her talents and experiences to help disadvantaged children in Peru this year.

Laure Bury, born in France and known for her Dartmoor landscapes and colourful compositions with butterflies, will be selling her paintings at half price from her studio in Mary Tavy to raise funds to enable her to volunteer working with children in the Oropesa village outside Cuzco.

The focus of the project is to take the children off the streets, to provide them with a safe place outside government school hours and to support their education with English classes, reading, arts, sports and excursions.

Laure said she had originally planned to go to Peru when she was in her twenties but did not make it: 'It is a lifelong ambition of mine. I went out to Mexico when I was 20 with the idea to travel down through Central America and make my way to Peru as I had specialised in Peruvian literature.

'But there were lots of wars going on in Peru at the time and and as a young female, I was a bit scared so I never made it.

'Then I fell in love in Mexico and had a child and my responsibilities changed.

'I'm going to be turning 50 this year and thought it would be a good time to fulfil my dream.'

Laure will be volunteering through the organisation Globalteer, and will be supporting the teaching staff at a school in the village.

Many of the children attending the school in Oropesa come from surrounding villages and walk up to four hours a day to attend. Some live away from their families to be closer to the school and many are required to work for their lodgings away from home.

'The children in the villages are very poor. I will be helping with their education — I used to teach languages, and I speak fluent Spanish, which will help me to communicate with the teaching staff.

'I have been developing art workshops here so have experience of that and I am also studying art therapy so I am hoping all those things will come together to help.'

Laure will be going to Peru for two weeks as a trial, but is hoping to go back again for a few months at a later stage.

The date for the volunteering excursion has not been fixed until Laure knows she can raise the £2,000 needed to fund the trip.

She will be selling her original paintings, ranging from 10cmx10cm to 100cmx100cm, at half price.

Laure can see Brentor from her back garden, and it has provided her with inspiration for many of her paintings. She also paints seascapes and compositions with butterflies, which she says are the symbol of human spirit.

After her divorce she came up with the idea of giving hope, with the butterflies symbolising coming out of the darkness into the light.

Anyone who would like to support Laure or is interested in buying a painting can make an appointment for viewing by contacting her on 01822 810576 or emailing [email protected]">[email protected]