| By :
Martin Hofschroer
All-round entertainer and artist Rolf Harris has revealed that painting keeps him feeling young. The antipodean legend turned the grand old age of eighty this year but has shown no signs of slowing down despite his advancing years as he is still enjoying a national tour of his artwork which displays Rolf Harris prints, lithographs and originals. Rolf started painting self-portraits in Australia aged 14 before moving country and studying the subject at City & Guilds Art School in South London's Kennington, where he met his wife Alwen. The chart-topper told the Daily Mail that even though he is an octogenarian he still feels like a teenager and will continue to paint and produce artwork for the rest of his life. He told the newspaper: "Physical age doesn't mean anything, it's what's in your head that counts - and my mental age is about 15. I equate retiring with lying down and dying. I've been so lucky because I've been able to do what I love as a career." The highlight of Rolf's 66 year life as an artist was when he was allowed to paint the Queen as part of a special episode of his BBC1 series Rolf On Art, which remains the most-watched arts television programme in British history. Rolf Harris has been able to keep the portrait and revealed to the Mail that he told the Queen that their families had a shared history. He said: "I told her that my grandfather had painted her grandfather, King George V, inspecting the troops at Flanders in the First World War." Having recently opened the fortieth Glastonbury festival to critical acclaim, Rolf appears to be revelling in his popularity among people of all ages and believes that his unique image has come back in fashion. Harris is proud of his 'nerdy' spectacles and remains committed to his hirsute appearance after scaring his wife when he once shaved his beard off. "My wife Alwen was horrified and said I looked like a big American car without the chromework," he told the Mail. The national treasure said that despite having a long and varied career in the music, entertainment and art industries he would have liked to be involved in Aardman-style animations. He told the publication; "I would have loved to do animation like Wallace and Gromit, but each programme takes two to three years to create - and I wasn't that dedicated." Rolf Harris prints will be on display at Clarendon Fine Art in London's Mayfair until July 18th.
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