WEST Devon artist Nick Viney has made a 200-mile round trip to deliver her commission to a former Plymouth musician living in France — in exchange for a holiday caravan!

 The 1.25m x 1.0m canvas of rock legend Jimi Hendrix is one of the more bizarre commissions for Nick, which she was asked to paint by Tobias Ward-Edwards.

 As guitarist, Tobias had invested heavily in producing his brand new album.

He asked Nick if she would accept his four berth caravan as 'payment' for the painting of Hendrix, one of his biggest heroes and musical influences.

 Painter and sculptor Nick was delighted to accept and recently returned from Tobias' home in Brittany, where she delivered the finished work and is returning in the summer to bring her new caravan back to the UK.

Nick, who runs the Green with NV studio from her home near Yelverton, said: 'I think it is fair to say that this is probably one of the stranger commissions I have had, but  my kids thought it was a great idea.'

'Tobias is incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about the work of Jimi Hendrix and I wanted to try and capture the essence of his dynamism as a performer while trying to put my own unique stamp on it.

'I'm happy to say Tobias was thrilled with the work.'

 Nick first met Tobias when she was living with her family in the same part of France in 2006 .

Tobias began playing the guitar at the age of seven and five years later he was drawn to classical music. It was around this time he was introduced to the work of Hendrix – an unlikely influence given his passion for the classics.

'Although Hendrix is seemingly on a different level to classical guitar, I found I emotionally connected to both styles.

'Nick's use of vibrant colours in the painting brilliantly reflect Hendrix's simple yet emotional style of playing.

'I am absolutely delighted with the painting and I am sure it will inspire me in future compositions.

'Exchanging my caravan for the work is a small price to pay in my mind.'

Tobias was 18 when he decided to start playing guitar professionally and toured the South West giving recitals.

After he was accepted into the Dartington College of Performing Arts he began to write his own compositions.

He recently released an album entitled Promenade, which is available as a download from Amazon and iTunes and on hard copy through http://www.thegenepool.co.uk">www.thegenepool.co.uk

Meanwhile, Nick is working on her next series of paintings, a contemporary take on the Dartmoor Pony, entitled 'D'artmoor Pony!' comprising small, vibrant and affordable works. In October, she has a solo exhibition at Duchy Square Centre for Creativity in Princetown, where she was a resident artist.