A 22-YEAR-OLD Llanidloes bricklayer and self-taught artist who has been acclaimed by a top US Disney painter and congratulated on his work by bosses at confectionary giant Nestle, is finding the arts world has its own walls to conquer when it comes to celebrating his work.

Callum Stephen read books and watched YouTube to learn to paint his acclaimed surrealism works in just 17 months.

Inspired by US-based Grammy Award-winning and official Disney fine artist Jim Warren, Callum had one of his own Disney paintings on a door shared on Warren’s Facebook page to tens of thousands of followers.

Paintings Milky Bar and Skittles packets earned him praise from bosses at Nestle who could not believe his paintings were not photographs - sending him a box of full of chocolates in response after the company’s directors saw his work.

But when it comes to entering arts awards and competitions to gain recognition of his work, Callum is finding a lack of art qualifications has barred him from entering his works.

“I didn’t really enjoy art in school. It wasn’t until I went travelling at 19 in Australia and I saw a man painting and making good money that I thought ‘I’m going to try that’,” said Callum.

Read the full story in tomorrow’s Machynlleth and Llanidloes edition of the Cambrian News