AN art teacher from West Wales has decided to take 'very early retirement' from the school at which he has been teaching for the past 12 years.

Guy Manning has been an art teacher in Ysgol Dyffryn Taf since September 1998.

During this time, he has also contributed his own paintings to over 30 exhibitions and art fairs.

Whilst working on a new body of work last summer, Guy realised that it was becoming increasingly difficult to balance his teaching and his painting.

Collectors in Canada, the USA and Germany contributed to an increasing number of commissions and sales, and this convinced him that handing in his notice just before Christmas last year was the right decision, albeit a tough one.

He said: "I could no longer sustain a good standard of teaching and painting at the same time, so I had a good, long think, listened to lots of conflicting advice and opinions, and then decided to go for it. I felt that I had started to build up some momentum as an exhibiting artist and thought that it was now or never."

Guy says that it was a very tough decision "...made even more so because I love working in the school and the pupils are pretty special to say the least."

Very recently, during the opening night of his exhibition in Tenby's Museum and Art Gallery, his decision was vindicated when eight paintings sold in less than two hours, far exceeding his expectations.

Since then, several other paintings have been commissioned, and six large paintings are en route to the prestigious ICO Gallery in New York, where they will form part of the Eyes of the World exhibition for a month in the heart of the art district in Chelsea, Manhattan.

After he finishes teaching at the end of May, Guy plans to paint full-time in Wales before combining his painting with some travelling and voluntary teaching in India, whilst researching more outlets for his work.

"It's really exciting and really scary in equal measure, but fear is as good a motivator as looking at the sun coming