AN award-winning artist and satirist from Ryedale is celebrating his authorial debut - a book about France, his greatest love, called The Road to Racque and Rouen.

Tim Bulmer, of Middleton, near Pickering, has undertaken a host of commissions for corporations, exclusive restaurants and bars, and amassed an army of fans and celebrity collectors.

In 2001, the father-of-two won the prestigious Fine Art Trade Guild award for best-selling original print artist.

Mr Bulmer has produced a unique and entertaining study of France presented in watercolour that shows he is a philosophical comedian and also a talented artist.

"The book loosely follows my boozy progress from renowned chateau to renowned chateau, taking in the motley crew of characters he meets en route," said Mr Bulmer.

"These range from the deliciously flirtatious Madame Frou Frou, with her impressive dcolletage and insatiable appetites, to the rather more down to earth wine growers and estate workers whose labours are responsible for many of our most memorable evenings out and forgettable mornings after.

"Tangents and diversions are frequent, and my great love for the country, the food, the cars, the women, and most of all the wine, is presented in my usual wicked, but irresistible style."

Mr Bulmer was born in Northumberland in 1958 and trained in art and theatre design in Teesside and London. He lives in Middleton with his wife Sarah and their two children, Freddy and Josie. The Road to Raque and Rouen is published by De Montfort Fine Art.

Updated: 12:25 Wednesday, December 10, 2003