Tributes have been flooding in this week for much-loved and well-known Midsomer Norton artist, David Fisher, who passed away peacefully with his family beside him last Thursday, 21st March after bravely and stoically battling cancer since 2009.

David, who was Midsomer Norton born and bred, had an incredibly successful career as a freelance artist and designer, beginning with his apprenticeship as a signwriter and decorator for F. Speed and Sons in Midsomer Norton from 1961 – 1966. He then went on to complete four years at the West of England College of Art in Bristol and married his wife, Brenda, at St John's Church, Midsomer Norton in 1969. The couple met at The Greyhound pub in the town, which Brenda's parents owned and they later had two children, Mark and Amy.

From his home in Church Square, Midsomer Norton, David began a huge period of productivity, painting pictorial inn signs for breweries throughout the South West, including Courage, Bass, Butcombe and Everard, completing almost four hundred signs in a fifteen-year period!

In 1970, David was made an Honourary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Painters and Stainers of the City of London, a great honour for him.

During the 1980s, his expanding list of corporate and international clients included a huge commission from Trusthouse Forte, which saw him design and paint fourteen murals, mostly over sixty feet long, displayed publicly at Welcomebreak Motorway Service Stations across the UK, which best conveyed each location's character, current attractions or local historical events. These could be seen at London Heathrow Terminal Four, Dover Eastern Docks, Gretna Green and Abington Services to name a few. During this period, David also took on commissions for clients such as RoadChef, Saudi Arabia Air Force and the Sultan of Oman.

After thirty years of working in the corporate field, David returned to painting subjects close to his heart, with commissions and producing fine art depicting a wide range of subjects, using oils, watercolours and acrylics. He was particularly well known for his local scenes and his keen interest in the steam railways.

In 2003, David's painting, 'Friend or Foe', of his beloved German Shepherd, Zak, gazing out of the window, was one of twenty finalists from among 10,000 entries in the Daily Mail 'Not the Turner prize' competition. Zak had a reputation with all visitors, (particularly the milkman!) and his picture was exhibited in the Mall Gallery, London.

2006 saw David win, for the eighth time, the award of 'Most Popular Picture in Show' at the annual Bath and West of England Show with the oil painting, 'The Grand Turk'. He would later win it again for the ninth time with 'First Things First' (pictured above), something he was deservedly proud of. In 2007, at the Autumn Open Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy, his oil painting, 'Reflections', was selected from around six hundred submissions to win the prestigious 'Award for Painting'.

David also belonged to well-known local group, the Old Bakery Artists, which has been meeting since 2000. In 2008, he won the Holburne Museum of Art's biennial portrait competition for 'Dead Man Posing', a portrait of fellow oba artist, Philip Ledbury, who had been diagnosed with leukaemia. The prize was a commission of £5,000 for a portrait to be added to the Holburne's collection. In nearly forty years of his career, Brenda says this was the most important achievement to David, who said that he had "at last been recognised as an artist." He took great pride in the fantastic resulting image of local actress of stage, television and radio, Stephanie Cole OBE, which depicts the actress reading aloud on stage. As well as the honour of painting her, they struck a firm friendship, something very easily done in David's company.

David's great loves were his family and his grandchildren. When he wasn't painting, he would be spending time with them or in the garden. As well as belonging to the oba, David was a member of the Somerset Coal Canal Society, the Midsomer Norton South Station Railway and the Wells Railway Fraternity. He was also instrumental in the setting up of the Midsomer Norton Society, offering his invaluable local knowledge and designing the Town Council logo.

"David made an enormous contribution to not just Midsomer Norton, but the whole area and he will be greatly missed. Whilst his primary focus was painting, it was his passion for local history which almost single-handedly inspired the founders of the Midsomer Norton Society to come together and go on to achieve so much," said Cllr Paul Myers, Mayor of Midsomer Norton.

Keith Wisbey, speaking on behalf of the oba group, also paid tribute: "All the oba members feel that David was a great inspiration to them as individuals and a great mentor to the group. Both David and his wife, Brenda, have been the glue that has inspired the oba to grow from strength to strength. He will be missed enormously."

A private cremation will take place on Friday, 5th April with a service of thanksgiving for David's life to be held at St John's Church, Midsomer Norton at 3 p.m. As David was well known for his colourful socks and ties, the family request that those attending wear a 'splash of colour' in his memory. He leaves behind his mother, Betty Fisher, his wife, Brenda, his two children and six grandchildren and will be very sadly missed by everyone who knew him.