An icon painter and manuscript illuminator has been awarded a �2,100 scholarship.

Christabel Anderson, from Whitechapel, was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship to study Heraldic Art, Calligraphy and Illumination at Reigate College of Art and Design.

The grant was awarded by the Royal Warrant Holders Association to advance UK education in modern and traditional crafts and trades.

Christabel, aged 37, is currently a professional artist and part-time PhD student at The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, where she is developing an appropriate iconography for the early British and Irish saints.

She graduated from the school’s MA degree programme with Distinction in 2010.

The scholarship will help Christabel raise the standard of her manuscript illumination and calligraphy, It will also allow her to develop her understanding of historic scripts and use of the quill for writing, drawing and illuminating to meet a growing number of challenging commissions and teaching projects.

“There is increasing demand from both the Orthodox Church and private individuals for icons of early British and Irish saints, and a need for liturgical art that is in keeping with regional artistic and architectural forms,” she explained.

She will be presented with her scholarship in central London on June 7.