Giant doves will soar around the globe when a Kingston lecturer paints on the canvas of British Airway planes to celebrate the Olympics.

Pascal Anson’s bird design will decorate the planes after he beat hundreds of entries in the company’s Great Britons programme.

The Kingston University design tutor is now being mentored by Turner-prize nominee Tracey Emin on how to make his vision become a reality.

She said: “It would have been easy to put a motif or a pattern on the side of an aircraft - but Pascal’s design takes it to another level.

“He uses the entire livery of the aircraft to redefine the way you look at it. The dove is a stunning piece of work and will bring real excitement to anyone who flies on one of the repainted planes.”

Mr Anson said the artist, famous for her unmade bed, advised him to stick to his guns and his initial concept.

The 38 year old, whose work will appear on A319s flying in Europe and 747s flying around the world, spent hours in a cote observing the birds to create an illusion of a dove.

He said: “It’s about looking at something in the sky and doing a double take.

“If you look at a bird that’s 10m away, it looks like a plane that’s 1km away. It appears to be the same size. That’s the idea I was playing with.”

He was inspired by doves used in the ancient Olympics to send messages to villages bearing the results, and wanted the image to appear realistic, and not like a cartoon.

The designer’s previous biggest project was a car, which he covered in vinyl to make it look as if it was made of wood.

He said his next project would focus on as small an object as possible, such as a button or a drawing pin.

The design will be launched on an A319 on Tuesday, April 3.