A Clydebank man is hoping to brush off his sketchbook and recover his passion for art.

Mariwan Aeziz, originally from Kurdistan, moved to the UK 17 years ago and has held various exhibitions in Dover and Glasgow.

But the 43-year-old hasn’t picked up a pencil or a paintbrush in six years ago, and now the man wants to get back to his craft for a greater cause.

Mariwan is planning to hold an exhibition this summer, displaying children’s artwork and some of his own.

The exhibition and artwork will raise awareness of the plight and pain of Kurdish young people, who have been displaced at the hands of ISIS.

Some have lost parents or siblings, while others have lost homes.

Mariwan told the Post: “They need our help and we would like to raise charity for them - second hand toys, clothing and money.

“It’s to put a smile on their faces again. That’s my plan.

“I will speak to organisations who can help me and put me on the right path, because I haven’t done anything like this before.

“I do more than art, I do sculpture, I do painting and drawing. I find my happiness in art.

“Art has been in my blood since I was nine-years-old. I remember I drew a little butterfly and a duck and started from there.

“Art is the most beautiful place to experience your own freedom. You can show other people’s pain in art and help them to stand up again.

“It will connect all your broken pieces together again. You can use it for good and help other people when they need you.”

Mariwan has lived in Clydebank for the past six months and said Scotland will always have a place in his heart, because of its similarities to Kurdistan.

He added: “I came to this country in 2001 as an asylum seeker.

“After a short period of time they transferred me to Glasgow and I didn’t know where it was.

“I had no idea but in the morning when we woke up in the bus after the 15-hour journey, I looked out of the window and thought it was Kurdistan.

“The mountains, the scenery, everything was exactly similar to where I was born. That’s why I started researching the history of Scotland.

“It’s like a twin, two bodies in one soul, the Kurdish history and the Scottish history.

“It’s been through a lot of pain for its freedom. Scotland has its own freedom but the Kurdish nation is struggling for its freedom.”