York artist Sue Clayton is working on a project to paint the city's heroes, reports MAXINE GORDON

WHO are York's heroes? That's the question posed by York artist Sue Clayton who has set out on an ambitious project to paint six of the city's great and good.

Earlier this year she began her campaign to persuade the public to nominate people they thought worthy of being captured in a portrait – with the final results to be revealed at York Residents' Festival in January.

When I visit Sue at her studio in the garden of her Wigginton home, one painting is complete, three are works in progress and two – including one of panto dame Berwick Kaler and another of Huge frontman and charity fundraiser Ian Donaghy– still need to be started.

The first work to be publicly unveiled is of a real unsung hero: Andrew Fair, who works at Sainsbury's at Monks Cross, and was a popular choice among the public. "So many people voted for him because he is so lovely," says Sue. "I have never seen him in a bad mood. I always see him on the trolleys, tidying away. "

Sue says that when Andrew found out from one customer that their offices were under threat, he wrote to the then Prime Minister David Cameron on their behalf. He is also a tireless charity fundraiser, having amassed more than £16,000 for good causes including Macmillan Cancer Support and the Lullaby Trust.

Sue decided to paint him in his uniform, with his yellow hi-viz jacket and orange Sainsbury's name tag clearly visible – at Andrew's request. "He has worked for Sainsbury's for 31 years. I thought about painting him with a trolley then decided his face should fill the frame. He has such a friendly face, full of character, and his personality shines through."

Each portrait will be unique, in content and style. Sue used oils to paint both Andrew and her second subject:York Against Cancer co-founder Steve Leveson. However, watercolours have been used in two other works: one of Mary Chapman, who runs the Nuzzlets animal charity at Great Ouseburn, and a second of the late Suzanne Asquith, the PC who was awarded the Gold award for Inspiration at the North Yorkshire Police Annual Awards and a BEM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her work with young people. Following Suzanne's untimely death last December at the age of 44 from cancer, a memorial service was held at York Minster.

In many ways, says Sue, this painting has been the most challenging. She never met Suzanne and has had to work from photographs. Sue took inspiration from a poem that was read out at Suzanne's funeral, which talks about living life to the full and is packed with dramatic images such as "the indigo bruise of thunder" and of people letting themselves be borne "like dandelion seeds through the star prickled night". Sue has included the poem in the painting with a close up on Suzanne looking on from the side. The backgound is a meld of orange and purples and blue – like a bruising night sky with dandelion seeds floating through it.

Sue liaised with Suzanne's widow Mick over the artwork. "It has been a real privilege. I have had to ask him: 'tell me who she was'. I looked at lots of different photos of her and what struck me was that she was always thinking about her boys: she had the face of a mum."

One of the largest works in progress is of Mary Chapman. Sue has her placed in the middle of a farmyard scene, surrounded by animals. Each of the four seasons will be represented too, as well as many of the animals she has rescued, including goats, lambs, hedgehogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, deer, and turkeys.

Sue said the idea for the York Heroes project came after the devastating floods of Boxing Day 2015.

"I was aware that in York we all came together in the floods. It made me realise there are people out there who do amazing things and it would be nice to celebrate them in painting."

The six subjects are not flood heroes, but heroic in their lives. Sue wanted to find people who "deserve recognition for making a difference to the lives of people in York and its surroundings".

She has certainly done that.

An exhibition of the finished results in poster form will go on show in the cafe at York Explore during the York Residents' Festival from January 27-28, with the final works going on display at various venues throughout 2018.