Watch: Iron Bridge scene a keeper for artist and former cricketer Jack Russell

Standing on the side of the bank, looking up at the Iron Bridge, the 52-year-old began his second painting of the Telford landmark in less than a fortnight.

He said: "This is such an iconic bridge. I came here thinking that underneath was black, but when you look at the shades and the colour underneath it's different. It could be never ending for me in this place because I'm seeing different colours all the time."

"Maybe I could be the artist that paints this bridge the most times ever. I think I might be painting it for the rest of my life.

"I like painting anything and everything, so I'd have to be off doing other things too. I've got a sneaky feeling that there's at least half a dozen paintings of this bridge each year, minimum, though. People have offered me a chance to stay in town and I think I'll have to take them up on that offer.

"It's got something special, this place. It certainly inspires me."

After painting the scene from a small angler's perch near the toll house during his last visit, Jack decided to get a closer look at the bridge itself.

His next painting, from just to the left of the bridge, looks out towards Ironbridge's high street and St Luke's Church.

It's only the second time he's visited the area, after fulfilling his lifetime ambition to see the Iron Bridge in person at the end of May.

He said: "The great thing is that the light changes all the time. At different times of the year, even though you'll be looking at the same view, the colours will be different.

"If I come in the autumn, when some of the trees are changing colour, that'd be good, and even when there's no leaves on the trees there will be different colours in the architecture."

Now Jack, who has his own gallery in Chipping Sodbury on the edge of his native Cotswolds, will take his half-finished piece and a photo of the area and begin to put together the finishing touches in his studio.

But he said it's not easy matching the atmosphere at home.

"It's never the same as looking at something in the flesh," he said. "You don't get the colours right. I'm going to spend ages trying to get the colour in the stone on the side of a bridge and it'll be really difficult. The camera will only go so far.

"The problem with going back to the studio is, if you leave it too long then the colours will go out of your mind. If I go back to the studio, I'll want all the canvas covered by the end of the week.

"Then you leave it for a few days, a week or a month, then I come back and realise how terrible I painted it, and I'll try and improve it.

"There's only so much from a camera in the studio you can do. On the spot is the best way."

As well as his new painting, Jack brought his previous effort with him. It's a stark contrast between the thick black lines and pencilled in buildings of his work-in-progress and the near photographic quality of his last.

He said that the water needed fixing on it, and that one of the biggest dangers for him was that he was never satisfied.

"I've got a vision in my mind, something that inspires me. I never totally get there – you never crack it.

"My pictures work around atmosphere, so if I can get something that was close to what it was like when I was there, then I get excited about that and there's a certain amount of satisfaction. But I tend to let other people judge what they think is a good painting or not.

"You've got to be careful you don't overcook it. Then you start going backwards and it becomes difficult. You can easily ruin it.

"People ask how long it takes to paint a picture, they're all different. They're all different. I can paint something in a few days, a sunset will take me 15 minutes. Some of my cricket pictures can take a month plus. Every picture is different.

"These two at the minute are the only unfinished ones. I want to get most of these done before I start something else. I want to get these two cracked."

It's a far cry from how Jack made his name as a wicketkeeper who played in more than 50 Tests for England and starred for Gloucestershire during a glittering career.

Although Jack is desperate to spend more time in Ironbridge and the surrounding areas, he's not sure when he'll be able to come back.

He said: "I've got such a busy summer but these two will keep me going for a bit.

"I'll probably come back in the autumn when the colours change a bit. I'll be down in October I should think, and November will be beautiful too."

With hundreds of people visiting the Ironbridge for the start of summer, there's no doubt it'll be quieter for him in November.

But Jack said it won't make a difference for him, adding: "I don't really notice much of what's going on around me. Some people have stopped and chatted, but I'm sort of in my own little world. I think that's why I do it. It's an escape for me."