FORMER boxing middleweight champion John H Stracey and his wife, Cathy,were among the guests at the opening of an artist’s exhibition in Didim on Saturday.

John H Stracey and John Burnell open the artists exhibition

Twenty works of keen watercolour artist John Burnell were showcased at a new Altinkum dental practice, managed by dentists Arif Canpolat.

Eighty-two-year-old artist John Burnell has been holidaying in the resort for nearly a decade where he and his wife, Gene, have a property.

His paintings have been donated to the Didim Help-in-Hands charity, who together with the Didim Art Group, staged the exhibition. The dental practice is located above Beach Way Restaurant (formerly Valentine’s) at the bottom on Ataturk Bulvari.

The exhibition runs for a month and everyone is invited to attend.

Art club founder Pat Flint praised Mr Burnell’s works for their vision, colour and  interpretation.

Mr Stracey, who cut the ribbon with Mr Burnell, said he was delighted to open the exhibition and praised the artist. Mr Stracey commented: “His paintings are great,” later quipping that: “I wish I could draw, but I only ended up winning (in reference to his times at boxing champ).”

Mr Burnell said he only took up painting in his 60s when he retired after a career as a local service manager. His paintings are bold in colour and include landscapes from local areas in Didim, including Mavisehir and Apollo Temple.

Mr Burnell (left) has been married to Gene for 61 years and they have two children, Steven and Angela, who has two daughters, Jodie and Lea.

Proceeds from the exhibition will go towards Help-in-Hands campaign to help improve road safety education among Didim youngsters.

In attendance were John H Stracey and his wife Cathy (right).