A SOUTH Lakeland woman with a lifelong passion for painting has been chosen to capture next year’s Olympic Games spectacular on canvas.

Christine Rooney, of Storth, has been named as a ‘BT Storyteller’ for London 2012 and will act as an official artist for the event, which is set to attract hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.

She has been highly commended by The Society For All Artists and had work displayed in London’s Business Design Centre – achiev-ements which helped her to pluck up the courage to apply for the competition, alongside countless other writers, photographers, film-makers and musicians.

She said modestly: “I was lucky enough to be selected and I am quite pleased. I will be rub-bing shoulders with celebrities and athletes so I am getting quite excited.”

Despite being dismis-sed by her teachers at school, Mrs Rooney persevered and all that hard work has paid off.

“I have been painting all my life but at school I would come 34th out of 36 and I guess that was quite hurtful really, but I just carried on.

“I developed my use of colours when I lived in Kenya for a while. It was just a hobby although from the age of seven I wanted to go to university, but failed my 11-plus exam. But at the grand old age of 50 I got my degree in art practice and theory at Lancaster University and since then I have been teaching and showing work locally.”

Daughter Chantelle Phipps, who lives in Australia, said: “I used to run for Kendal Athletics Club and dreamed of going to the Olympic games. I can’t believe my mum is going as an artist. It is such an achievement and I am so proud.”

Seb Coe, chair of the London 2012 organising committee, said: “This is a fantastic way of showcasing people’s talent to ensure they are part of the Games.”

Find out more about Mrs Rooney’s work at the website below.