Italian inspiration for art student

Rosanna Bankes, from Cilcain, will travel to Florence in Italy to study classical drawing and painting.

The trip will give the 24-year-old the chance to study the details of works by greats such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Caravaggio.

Miss Bankes said she was excited about the nine-month course, which starts next October.

"I can't wait to study at the Charles H Cecil studios in Florence," she said.

"I have seen people come back from there drawing fantastically and Florence is just phenomenal."

Miss Bankes said she was disappointed by the lack of facilities available to young artists in Britain.

"I feel passionately about the lack of classical and naturalistic art training in this country, where this wonderful tradition used to be so strong and vibrant," she said.

"I've looked in this country for somewhere that teaches life drawing and there isn't anywhere."

Mural specialty

Miss Bankes, who graduated in fine art and the history of art, said she was delighted to receive the £11,000 scholarship from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust.

"I applied for the scholarship last July, literally three days before the deadline," she said.

The trust is the charitable arm of the Royal Warrant Holder's Association.

It aims to advance education in modern and traditional crafts by presenting cash awards to artists.

Miss Bankes specialises in murals and trompe l'oeil - a technique which leads spectators to believe the paintings are real views.

For the last two years, she has worked as a freelance decorative artist in private homes, painting murals and creating marble, wood and stone effects.

The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust was set up in 1990 to mark the 19th birthday of the Queen Mother.

Between 1991 and 2002 the Trust made cash awards - totalling almost £700,000 - to 103 artists aged between 17 and 50.