WALLY the walrus has paused in his boat-climbing missions on the Isles of Scilly just long enough to pose for a portrait

Artist Steve Sherris had his palette and canvas at the ready when cheeky Wally decided on a spot of sunbathing on a pontoon in St Mary's Harbour.

Temperatures rose to 27°f on Thursday July 1 to make it the hottest day of the year so far for the island.

So Wally was busy alternating his basking with cooling off in the water - a bit of a change from his recent antics where he has climbed aboard a variety of vessels.

With the help of his binoculars and a couple of changes of position, Steve, 55, was able to capture the cheeky creature on canvas.

Steve showed the portrait and the scene from his easel on Facebook, where he said: "Had fun afternoon painting Wally the Walrus on the pontoon.

"I had to swap quay ends a couple of time as he would jump in the water to cool down. When he came back onto the pontoon he would face the other way. But managed to get a study done.

Western Telegraph:

Here's the print of the original portrait that Steve is now selling - to buy, head to his website

He added: "Who would have thought that you’d be able to paint a wild walrus from life just a few hundred metres from home? After the last couple of crazy years anything is possible."

Wally first popped up in the waters around the Isles of Scilly, 28 miles from the Cornish coast, just over a fortnight ago.

The wandering walrus was first seen off the coast of Ireland on March 14. He then quickly made his way to Pembrokeshire, with a spectacular sojourn in Tenby.

Here's a compilation of just a few of his adventures.

After swimming away from the resort that took him to its heart - and even named a beer in his honour - Wally was spotted off the coasts of France and Spain before rocking up in the bay of Porthcressa on the Isles of Scilly.

There he was videoed trying to board a boat

Wally has been using his powerful tusks and flippers for leverage on a number of vessels, even tipping some over.

After Porthcressa, Wally headed north to the island of St Martin's before returning to St Mary's and its harbour.

Artist Steve, who has a gallery on St Mary's, told the Western Telegraph: "He was happy as Larry on Thursday.

"Every 15 or 20 minutes, he would roll off the pontoon into the water, have a wallow around and then climb back up.

"People are very fond of him here, just like they were in Tenby, but some of the boat owners are pretty annoyed with him because he has caused quite a bit of damage.

"It's just fantastic that he has survived all this time - when I saw him first, I really had to pinch myself.

"It's something you never thought you'd see in a million years."

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