A MAN who almost died in a motorbike crash has become an artist after turning his life around.

Derek Stainthorpe, 51, from Kelfield, said goodbye to his family at his hospital bedside believing he might not make it through the night.

He was riding his Triumph Tiger motorbike along the B1222 between Cawood and Kelfied when his front wheel skidded and he left the road and hit a signpost.

As previously reported in The Press, the crash in 2010 left Mr Stainthorpe with a punctured lung, a broken arm, broken shoulder, six broken ribs and a dislocated knee.

An emergency paramedic put an air hole into his lung at the roadside so he could breathe. The air ambulance took him to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield where he underwent treatment for a month.

Since the accident, Mr Stainthorpe, who was made redundant from his job in printing in Leeds after 34 years, said it had been a long struggle with various operations leaving him with five metal ribs and a metal plate in his arm.

He said: "Art has always been in my life, but after my redundancy I now feel lucky that I'm being given this opportunity to follow my love of painting. A major influence in my painting is my love of Yorkshire and my love of a good sky.

"I have worked in all mediums but most of my paintings at the moment are acrylic on canvas or canvas board. I love the ability acrylic gives me to layer paint quickly with the texture of oils but still able to use it in a watercolour style as well.

"I am looking forward to a new start and hopefully people will find my paintings to their liking. My next commission is a 4' x 3' original of The Tower of London surrounded by the poppies. This will be my largest work to date."

Previously The Press carried a story when Mr Stainthorpe's son, Connor and his friends ran the Yorkshire Marathon last year to raise funds for the Air Ambulance.

To find out more about Mr Stainthorpe's artwork go to http://derekstainthorpe.wix.com/derekstainthorpeart