ACTOR turned artist James Murray is selling his artworks online to raise money for his Hampshire charity.

The star of current ITV drama McDonald & Dodds, who lives in a village near Alresford, has joined online art marketplace Artfinder.

Thirty per cent of all his sales will be donated to The Murray Parish Trust, the charity set up by James and his wife Sarah Parish with the aim of advancing paediatric emergency medicine as a tribute to their late baby daughter Ella-Jayne.

James told the Daily Echo: "Painting professionally was something I'd always planned to do, but work got in the way until about six years ago when an artist colleague persuaded me to carve some time out to paint. It was the best advice I've ever been given.

"Painting keeps me in the moment, gives me a sense of achievement and above all brings great joy. I have been lucky enough to have sold my work over the years, and I have always donated a percentage of the proceeds to the Murray Parish Trust.

"We have recently raised £2 million pounds for a new children's emergency department for the South, but there's still more to do! I hope that my presence on Artfinder will really boost the sale of my work.”

As an actor, James has worked in film and TV, appearing in Coronation Street, Cutting It, All the King’s Men and Under the Greenwood Tree.

His artwork takes inspiration from artists such as Clyfford Still, Richter and de Kooning, creating multi-layered abstract paintings he describes as 'Neo abstract'.

His acrylic paintings currently for sale range in price from £125 to £2,000.

The largest online marketplace for art, Artfinder is a startup backed by the investors behind Spotify and Zoopla.

To visit James's online shop, go to artfinder.com/james-murray