Maggie Gray faced up to some colourful opposition to win an artistic accolade.

Award-winning face painter Maggie Gray with her model, Claire Hunt

Maggie, of Greencliffe Drive, Clifton, was declared Face Painter of 1999 at a ceremony in Liverpool.

The contestants were asked to produce a design on a theme of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 20 minutes.

Her winning image, called Fairy Pool, contained such detail as a gnarled tree over one eye, and turquoise, orange and purple shades coming down to a pool with fairies dancing on its surface.

Mrs Gray, 46, who works at the ticket counter and in customer relations at York Railway Station, started face painting five years ago when she was one of the "explainers" at a Thomas the Tank Engine Exhibition at the National Railway Museum.

She was asked to do some painting on hands, and after that she became interested in face painting, passing an examination to join an association called Face.

"I love it," she said, adding she had done charity painting for the RSPCA and St Leonard's Hospice.

This is the first time she has found success in the national competition, which she has entered for the last three years. The prize was £95-worth of top painting equipment.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.