A Cornish artist, who raised £12,000 to train RNLI crew volunteers and lifeguards by selling his paintings on line, is launching another fundraising project for the charity. Glyn Macey from Crowlas near Penzance collected the money by selling 120 paintings of scenes from Cornwall on Ebay. Now he's about to launch a second auction featuring 180 pictures of the English coastline.

It costs £1,000 a year to train one RNLI crew volunteer and £900 for a lifeguard, so Glyn was delighted to raise enough to ensure at least 12 are funded for the next 12 months:

'I was born and then grew up in Newlyn, West Cornwall and was just 12 years old when the Penlee lifeboat was lost. I was also best friends at school with Patrick Harvey who is now the Mechanic at Penlee, so it seemed right to use my skills as an artist to support his skills as a lifeboatman. I'm delighted to have raised so much for the RNLI and to see where the money is going, indeed the success of the auction has inspired me to travel further afield for the same cause.'

'I'm in the process of producing 180 paintings from around the English coastline which will be auctioned on Ebay over a 9 month period, starting on Tuesday 1 July 2008. They'll cover an area including the Lancashire and Cumbria coastlines and Northumberland all the way down the coast to Cornwall. And Wales and Scotland need not worry, as I hope to visit those areas for future auctions.'

Glyn finished the last auction with a painting of the Penlee all weather Severn class lifeboat, Ivan Ellen, which was successfully sold for more than £300. RNLI Mechanic Patrick Harvey says he's amazed at what his school friend has achieved:

'Who would have thought we would grow up into an artist and a mechanic who both believe so strongly in the work of the RNLI saving lives at sea? I'm staggered at how much Glyn has raised to fund the training of lifeboat volunteers and RNLI lifeguards, and equally impressed that he's decided to paint on in the name of crew training! I wish him the very best of luck with this second auction and hope people will continue to offer him the support they showed first time around.'

To find out about the specific sites being featured in the English coastline auction and to read Glyn's blog about his visits to each area, go to www.gullova.co.uk

Notes to editors

• Glyn Macey's acrylic studies, painted in locations along the Cornish coastline, are the subject of a new hardback book, Postcards from Cornwall, which is out now. Please visit his website (see below) for details.
• As a registered charity, the RNLI relies on voluntary contributions and legacies to ensure its volunteer crews and its lifeguards have the very best lifeboats, equipment and training to help them save lives from the beach to the open sea.

RNLI contact

For further information please contact
Amy Caldwell,
RNLI Lifeguard Press Officer on 07920 818 807

RNLI online

For further information about the RNLI please visit www.rnli.org.uk and for the latest news go to www.rnli.org.uk/press

Other useful sites include:

www.penlee-lifeboat.ik.com
www.stiveslifeboat.com
www.gullova.co.uk (Glyn Macey website)
www.ebay.co.uk