Leading Scottish sculptor Andy Scott gives a preview of what a Charles Rennie Mackintosh statue could look like in Glasgow�s George Square.

Leading Scottish sculptor Andy Scott gives a preview of what a Charles Rennie Mackintosh statue could look like in Glasgow's George Square.

Mr Scott wants to see the city honouring the legendary architect and designer with a permanent tribute.

As well as making a bust of Mackintosh, he has also devised some sketches that show how the finished statue might look.

Mr Scott caused a stir last week when he said it was time Mackintosh's native city erected a statue in his honour.

He said he was surprised that though Glasgow took great pride in Mackintosh's works, from the Glasgow School of Art to the Willow Tea Rooms and the House for an Art Lover, it had not yet raised a statue to him.

He said: "He was a hugely influential figure in all his fields and I think it is time that Glasgow should consider building a statue.

"Considering all the tourism, economic and publicity benefits the city has generated from him, there's almost a poetic justice that some kind of a fixed memorial to the man be built.

"The Mackintosh tourism market they are tapping into now is excellent, but to give him some sort of profile would be a really worthwhile idea." Mr Scott has suggested George Square, and Buchanan Street near The Lighthouse, as possible locations for the tribute.

His idea has been supported by the City Council, the School of Art and leading architectural firm Keppie, where Mackintosh worked between 1889 and 1913.

Council leader Steven Purcell said: "It is fitting that a contemporary Glasgow artist wants to commemorate this towering figure in world architecture with a long- overdue and much deserved statue."

Mr Scott said: "I've been delighted with their expressions of support and also with the reactions of ordinary people. All I hoped to do was to get the ball rolling, and all I can do now is to see what I can do to build on this and keep pushing it further."

The sculptor added that he would like to build the statue himself were all the funds to be raised.

He added: "A foundry has already given me a range of prices for the casting process. I would like to do most of the modelling myself but would probably hire a number of assistants to help out.

"If we get it to go the way I would like it to be, it would be a fairly substantial piece of work.

"It would be big scale and it would take a while to actually make it."