Sir Paul only recently went public as a visual artist

The stamps feature simple, floral designs similar to those used in the charity's artwork.

The Isle of Man's stamp bureau plans to print 170,000 sets of the stamps.

Many of those are expected to be snapped up by fans of Sir Paul.

A bureau spokeswoman said: "Paul's stamps are truly works of art.

"We anticipate that the issue will be extremely popular.

"The stamps have just the look that collectors like, and, as art, they can hang on the wall in any decor."

'Happy trip'

Sir Paul, who visited the island as a schoolboy, said: "I can still remember how beautiful the landscape was and how friendly the people were - even to us, a pack of noisy kids from Liverpool.

"It's no exaggeration to say that it was one of my happiest trips of my childhood."

Sir Paul was asked to do the stamps after the success of an exhibition of his paintings in New York nearly two years ago.

The New York exhibition came not long after Sir Paul's debut show, in Bristol.

"I didn't tell anybody I painted for 15 years but now I'm out of the closet," he said at the time.