'Rubbish' pet artist to draw non-stop for 24 hours

Hercule Van Wolfwinkle has raised more than £350,000 for charity with his pet portraits

A pet-portrait artist who specialises in self-confessed "rubbish" pictures is to draw non-stop for 24 hours for charity.

Phil Heckels, from Worthing, West Sussex, began working under the alias Hercule Van Wolfwinkle in 2020.

He has raised more than £350,000 for Turning Tides, a homelessness charity, and veterinary care organisation StreetVet.

Mr Heckels said of his "drawathon", which begins on Friday evening, that he was "excited about raising money for charities close to my heart".

His art career began four years ago when he drew his pet dog and shared it on Facebook - after which genuine requests flooded in.

He now has more than 80,000 requests for "rubbish" pet portraits sitting in his inbox.

He said: "As much as I love creating artwork akin to that of a small child who has never seen an animal before, my reasons for doing it run a lot deeper.

"Events like this are a really useful way of reminding people why I do what I do – to raise money for two incredible homeless charities."

Hercule is planning to draw pets for 24 hours non-stop

Such is the success of his artwork, Mr Heckels has given up his job in commercial property and is now a full-time artist and fundraiser.

He was named Creative Fundraiser of the Year for his efforts at the JustGiving Awards in 2022.

"After my recent success, people tell me I can’t call my portraits rubbish anymore," he added.

"But I still maintain that they are – and there’s nothing wrong with that."

The 24-hour event is culminating with an online exhibition which will display the artworks created during the project.

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