Have you guessed what it is yet? Rolf Harris paints giant picture at gallery

The artist, who captivated a generation of children through his television programmes in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, launched the Whitewall Gallery in Birmingham yesterday afternoon. The gallery in Colmore Row will be hosts to his latest exhibition, A Portrait of London, from tomorrow until October 27.

The collection focuses on ordinary people in everyday situations, and a set of cartoon sketches he produced during his 1980s television series Rolf's Cartoon Club are also on sale, priced £25,000 each.

At the age of 82, he has lost none of his boyish excitement, and says he still gets a huge buzz when meeting fans.

"Many of the people will have been watching me since they were children, saying they always wanted to own a painting of mine, it's just wonderful."

He said the talent to being a successful artist was having an eye for the different colours which make up any scene.

"When you look at a person, there are a number of different colours, not just the flesh colour, and I try to exaggerate those colours a little."

Rolf joked with his audience as he painted a house on a hill, telling them how he had been using the same brushes since the 1970s.

David Breeze, aged 57, from Handsworth, said afterwards: "It's superb, just to stand here and watch him doing something in front of your eyes".

"He's such a likeable bloke," added wife Glenys, 63.

Alan Nunn, aged 48, from Birmingham, said he had grown up watching Rolf on television, and had seen him a couple of times before.

"You only get a couple of minutes with him, but in that time he makes you feel so special," he said.