AN array of quirky paintings by a renowned Wollaston artist are set to go under the hammer at auction.

Work by Geoff Tristram, who created the famous Cat Conundrum puzzle pictures, will be sold in a series of auctions at Fieldings Auctioneers in Stourbridge starting later this month.

The collection going up for sale includes more than 60 large Ravensburger puzzle cartoon artworks depicting British life - at the beach, the country fair, the supermarket and the cricket match and other scenes.

All of the pictures, which are "full of visual and verbal humour" according to Geoff, featured in the artist's 2014 lifetime exhibition held at Himley Hall - 40 Years Watching Paint Dry - but he says now they've served their commercial purpose he's having a clear out.

He said: "They are being auctioned as collectors' items and can probably be bought for a fraction of their original cost."

Four of Geoff's "mega-detailed and magnificent" large framed watercolour Cat Conundrum puzzle paintings are also set to go under the hammer.

The artist, from Egginton Road, came up with the idea for the Cat Conundrums one day in his studio while flicking through the dictionary and spotting several pages of words that began with the letters CAT.

He was inspired, he says, to create a complex puzzle painting and the idea soon became a nationwide competition in the form of a limited edition jigsaw sold through Past Times and later Ravensburger.

Geoff, aged 62, said: "They were full of devilishly clever clues and codes. It was a resounding success and I soon began to receive letters from Cat Conundrum fanatics all over Britain - and even countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - all trying to crack the code."

The original jigsaws can still be bought in Celebrations in Stourbridge High Street - a major Ravensburger stockist.

Geoff's Cat Conundrum puzzle pictures, including the original Cat Conundrum, and a few of the Ravensburger cartoons will go under the hammer at Fieldings in Mill Race Lane at the auction house's next fine art, antiques and collectibles sale on Saturday November 12 - with further cartoon artworks set to be sold at subsequent auctions.

Viewing starts at 8am and the sale starts at 10am.