I did it my way! Portrait for Frank Sinatra's 100th birthday in stamps

Former art teacher Pete Mason, from Hednesford, has put together a portrait of Ol' Blue Eyes made from the stamps ahead of the singer's birthday on December 12.

The 36 sq in portrait shows Sinatra in all his glory, complete with iconic hat, suit and smile, set against a backdrop of the United States flag.

Mr Mason, 71, has made countless portraits from stamps over the last 15 years, ranging from Elvis Presley to Noel Edmonds and everyone in between.

He said: "My birthday is the day before Frank's so I came up with the idea as something of a joke. I thought I could show people the portrait and say that even in my older years, I am looking in better nick than Frank.

"I am a fan of his music though and I mainly just do portraits of people I have an admiration for.

"It seemed appropriate to do this now, so I did it my way – with stamps."

Mr Mason had in fact made two portraits of Sinatra, with the intention of presenting one to Frank Sinatra Junior ahead of his recent performance at Birmingham Town Hall.

However, due to time restraints a meeting organised between the pair had to be cancelled at the last minute. Mr Mason said: "It was a shame that I didn't get to give Frank Junior a copy. I have presented my portraits to a lot of people, including Alan Sugar and Cliff Richard.

"They always seem to like what I have done and I am sure this would have been the same."

Mr Mason, who worked at Manor Farm Community School in Walsall for 38 years, believes that since inventing what he calls 'Post Pop Art', he has been given a new lease of life as an artist.

He said: "My motto for a while was old is the new young and the more I think about that, the more I believe it to be

true.

"My portraits are a great outlet for my creativity and I am proud of all of them."