An artist from Keevil was helped by a few famous faces to raise funds and awareness for the moon bear through an auction of her paintings.

Joanna May, 48, who has been painting since childhood, sold all five paintings of the moon bear, as well as 29 prints of her older works, which included a tiger print bought by actress Rula Lenska.

Paul Martin, of BBC’s Flog It, was auctioneer at the event in Henley, which was attended by 150 people, including the town’s mayor.

The wildlife artist said: “When I do any of these events they are full on but you are on a mission for that day and working on adrenaline. It is exciting and afterwards you are very happy.

“It is nice to know your work has been well received and everyone really enjoyed themselves.”

The artist supports a conservation project every year and chose Animal Asia Foundation this year after hearing about the plight of the moon bear from Rula Lenska, who she met at an art fair in London last year.

She said: “We both raise money for conservation projects, are particularly interested in art and have a love of animals.

“Moon bears are kept in tiny cages and catheters are put into their stomachs to extract bile for use in Chinese medicine. It is brutal.”

She has pledged the £6,500 from the auction towards Animal Asia to sponsor a rescued moon bear.

The artist, who studied at Falmouth College of Art, used liquid acrylics to create the moon bear paintings. The 29 other lots were prints of her previous work. She said: “I worked from photographs of the moon bears in their cages and took one month to complete each of the five paintings.

“I always draw wildlife. I love drawing the eye and I am influenced by Gustav Klimt and his symbolism.”

The artist, who was an illustrator for 10 years, owned a gallery in Marlborough but now has her work on display in her Keevil studio. To see more of her work visit www.joannamay.com