Painting was well worth £5 (From Barry And District News)

Painting was well worth £5

AN AMATEUR antiques enthusiast has struck lucky with a painting that would be fit for the Vatican.

Phil Jones, of Dunlin Court, often goes to charity shops to see what he can buy and sell on. He has been doing this for years and saw a £5 painting on the floor.

He said: "My wife and I often visit Mind on Main Street and look through the bric-a-brac.

"My son spotted the painting and I thought it looked like wallpaper.

"I bought the painting and found out it was by a Croatian artist called Ivan Lackovic. I had not heard of his work before so I decided to do some research on him.

"It was difficult to find out in this country because he is not well known or popular. When I looked on the internet it was easy to find information about his work."

Lackovic has presented approximately 200 exhibitions in Croatia as well as in culture centres on all six continents.

He lives in Zagreb in Croatia but originally comes from Batinska in the country.

He is 72 and paints scenes from his native village in tempera and oils on glass.

His works are known as primitive art. His art can be found in numerous distinguished museums and galleries throughout the world, including the Getty Museum in the USA and the Vatican.

During his 40-year artistic career, Lackovic has received many awards and honours.

Phil, voluntary manager of the Castleland Community Centre, was looking to sell the painting. He put the work of art on e-bay on the internet and was surprised to get three competing bids.

He said: "We sold the painting to a Croatian living in the United States. He bought it for £367. The painting was sold on for more than £1,000 by the buyer."