A Wimbledon artist has been commissioned to paint a rickshaw that will be raced across India later this year in memory of the brother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

The charity Elephant Family is organising the race in memory of its founder Mark Shand to raise funds for its fight to save the endangered Asian elephant.

Wimbledon Times:

Emily Robson working on the tuk-tuk with fellow artists Divya Pasgon, Claire Robinson and Arati Devasher.

To launch it, 20 motorised rickshaws (also known as tuk-tuks) are being transformed into pieces of mobile art that will then grace the streets of London from June 1 before being auctioned on June 11.

The race will take place in November and at the wheel of the rickshaws will be celebrities including actress Susan Sarandon and models Yasmin and Amber Le Bon.

Emily Robson, a painter who works at Wimbledon Art Studios is one of the artists who has been chosen to transform a rickshaw.

She said: "This tuk-tuk has been designed by Mark Shand who sadly died last year who was one of the founders of the charity Elephant Family."

Ms Robson, who was chosen because of her work which involves painting fabric, said: "It’s inspired by a rug that Mark used to have in his flat.

"I’ve been given the design to paint all round the side. On the front there’s going to be an elephant, maybe of Ganesha, the Indian God and it’s going to be upholstered on the inside with fabrics donated by Liberty."

Elephant Family says that the wild Asian elephant population has decreased by 90% in the past 100 years, leaving as few as 35,000.

Wimbledon Art Studios, tucked away in Riverside Yard, near the Plough Lane business warehouses in Wimbledon, hosted a festival-style exhibition earlier this month which drew thousands of visitors.

For more information about the race see www.travelstomyelephant.org or about the Studios see www.wimbledonartstudios.co.uk