Affordable Art Auction and Open House

Medium: All images are printed on high quality Somerset Velvet archival paper with perfect colour reproduction ready for you to frame.

Artist Notes: The Story behind Eight Miles Away

An elderly man slept in the bus shelter opposite me for a year on the noisy seafront road. The traffic is so loud and the rain so cold here, I did not know how he made it through each day. I took time to talk with him – one human to another.  I was deeply touched by his poise, calmness and resilience.  I gave him the occasional hot meal and a little cash, but became consumed with wondering how to help at a completely different level.

So I did the only thing I knew how to:  I painted his picture, knowing that I would direct any money that came from selling it into trying to get him off the street.  (‘Eight Miles Away’ refers to the lights of the wind farm, eight miles out in the sea behind where he slept, which ironically generates warmth for over 400,000 homes.)

48 hours after finishing that first painting, a lady in Australia saw it online and bought it. (It reminded her of when unprompted her own son bought an aboriginal man a cold Coke in the incredible heat of their summer.)  Then people all over the world started buying prints – New York City, Spain, Canada, Norway, to name a few.

That first painting succeeded in opening doors for the man, so I just kept painting. In the next 2 years, I completed 8 different paintings of my city. All feature a homeless person. The original paintings will all be auctioned and together with sales of every single print their funds will go directly to 8 homeless people here in the city. I have received expert advice on how any funds can best kickstart a new life. I cannot solve all homelessness, but maybe I can help one, good person at a time?

I am just a painter. If you like a painting, buy it. Every time you look at it, smile and know you really helped someone make a fresh start.