Tributes have been paid to a popular local artist who was “beloved” by surfers and bikers alike.

Mike Etienne died in the early hours of 4 December, according to a message shared on his Facebook page.

Pictured: The iconic elephant mural on Bellozanne Road was painted by Mike Etienne in 2009.

Hundreds of islanders posted tributes to the artist – highlighting sketches, ceilings and even bedsheets that Mr Etienne had painted for them.

GB Surfing director Arlene Maltman described him as “one of the beach’s true characters”.

“A man who was true to his own path – talented, funny… and talkative!” she added.

In addition to popular paintings of the sea and dolphins, Mr Etienne took three years to create a replica of an officer’s wristwatch to mark Armistice Day in 2018.

The sculpture went on show at the Armistice Museum in Compiègne, France.

Owen Lewis, of the shop Bikers, remembered Mr Etienne’s regular visits, and how he sketched a picture of the sea to show not all of his art featured dolphins.

“It swam away and I wasn’t fast enough to catch it,” Mr Lewis remembered Mr Etienne saying – before painting a second piece with a dolphin.

Gillian Mallet said she had recognised Mr Etienne on a retro scooter in France, and that they “spent the next four hours drinking tea, eating biscuits and talking randomness in a field somewhere”.

Dave Ferguson, former President of the Channel Island Surfing Federation, added that visitors to the Watersplash should “look up” to see Mr Etienne’s work on the ceiling.

“What a great artist with a unique personality, loved by all the surfing gang,” he said.