Former advertising executive Shirley Pickett, who retired to Devizes to concentrate on painting, has died at the age of 81.

She was born in Cardiff on August 18 1929 and, after a spell in teaching, moved into commerce.

Her subsequent career encompassed public relations, advertising account manager and publicity manager.

In 1969 Miss Pickett was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to research small business administration in America. On her return, she was appointed general secretary of the UK Small Business Association.

In 1976 she became a founder council member of the World Trade Centre at St Katherine’s Dock in London but left to run her own marketing consultancy business in the USA, returning to London in 1982 to become its executive director.

Miss Pickett had a long-standing interest in painting, mostly in watercolour and gouache.

In 1995 she retired to Devizes where she continued to paint, collect books and research her family tree.

During the next three years, she undertook a colour reconstruction of the Parthenon Frieze, which was published as The Elgin Marbles in Colour and is available at the British Museum.

She also worked on many vivid flower and fauna pictures to accompany Gilbert White’s The Natural History and Antiquities of Selbourne.

She lived at Nags Head Court in New Park Street and never married. She died on February 20 and her funeral took place at West Wiltshire Crematorium.