A WIRRAL artist has been commissioned to paint part of a penguin army that will soon be on display across Liverpool.

Amanda Oliphant is hand-painting two three-foot high baby penguin figurines that have taken up residence at the Contemporary Urban Centre, an art studio based in a Grade-II listed converted warehouse.

They are part of a colony of 100 statues that will be placed at various locations around the city later this month as part of Go Penguins, a new public art event celebrating Liverpool’s Year of the Environment.

Amanda, a mother-of-three from Heswall, showcased her work on the Superlambanana placed in Lime Street station during Capital of Culture year.

The full-time artist has also been commissioned to paint a large five foot penguin which will stand in Liverpool One.

Her winning penguin design was plucked from hundreds of entries as the winner of Liverpool One's Go Penguin design competition.

Artists and schools across Merseyside are preparing the penguins for the exhibition.

Amanda said: "After the success of the Superlambanana project, I'm delighted to be able to contribute to Go Penguins.

"These baby penguins are going to be lifelike, in complete contrast to the abstract design of my Superlambanana. I've been doing lots of research to make sure I get them just right."

The art studio is just one of the facilities that the 170,000 square foot CUC building offers, with other rooms housing exhibition space, a theatre, cinema room, bar, cafe and two restaurants.

Dino Moutsopoulos, the centre's director of operations, said: "Supporting creativity is what the CUC is all about and is why we offer a wide range of facilities to local artists.

"It's fantastic to have Amanda working on the penguins in our art studio. They have brought a little bit of the Arctic to the CUC."

The CUC is one of the largest and most ambitious centres for community and social justice concerns in the country with a clear focus on the diverse needs of Black and Minority Ethnic and other excluded communities.