JUST weeks before the political leaders battle it out at the polls a Bournemouth student has encapsulated the fight for votes in this striking painting.

Sophie Fretwell, a costume and set design student at Arts University Bournemouth, painted the picture after winning a bursary from a newly launched creative industries network Hiive.

The 19-year-old’s work, entitled Coalition, features David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Ed Miliband and Nigel Farage in a “punch up” in the House of Commons.

Sophie received a £1,500 bursary from Hiive after she impressed the judges with her pitch.

She said: “I entered Hiive Remix as the brief was so inspirational. Clashing modernity and traditional art like that was bound to produce something interesting. Also, it seemed like a great opportunity to possibly gain some exposure and take advantage of Hiive's great links.

“My Hive Remix artwork is a painting imitating the style of late Renaissance and early Baroque artwork but with a modern twist, transposing the dark tones of Caravaggio to the dark intrigues of Parliament.”

The student said the piece, which fits the Fibonacci ratio composition, was inspired by a spontaneous fight that broke out in the Ukrainian parliament.

The painting was unveiled at the official launch of Hiive last month.

Ciaran Burke, editor of Hiive, said: “Hiive is all about celebrating creativity and collaborations, and with Remix we wanted to showcase some of the great talent we know is already on the site.

“Sophie’s Hiive Remix piece shows her obvious creative talent, as well as a sense of humour and awareness of current issues.

“Ideas and skills like hers are exactly why we created the ‘Q&A' and 'Swarm’ sections on Hiive that allow you to connect and share with other members – we want to see more people sharing ideas and knowledge on Hiive to produce work like this.”