Foot painting tribute to Captain Tom
WAR veteran Captain Tom Moore has captured the hearts of the nation, and now he is the inspiration for an artist’s latest creation.
Because Captain Tom walked his way to raising more than £25m for the NHS, Nathan Wyburn decided to use just his feet to recreate a photograph of the war veteran.
Captain Moore, from Bedfordshire, initially planned to raise £1,000 by walking 100 garden lengths, but the donations have come flooding in.
In 1939, when the now 99-yearold was 19, he joined the army. His service eventually earned him three medals: the 1939-1945 Star, the Burma Star and the War Medal 1939-1945.
Nathan, from Ebbw Vale, used a photograph from his time in the Army to create his latest artwork. Nathan said: “I was inspired to create a tribute portrait to Captain Tom Moore because of his incredible fundraising efforts! It was £23m when I started planning up the art and by the time I got to post it, it was £25m!
“He’s captured the nation’s hearts and it’s astonishing. Obviously he did this by walking around his garden, so I wanted to replicate this by using footprints and walking myself through paint, to make his Word War Two veteran image.
“I wanted to say thank you, to Tom, for what he’s done for the NHS, in my special way.”
Nathan added: “I think we really need art right now. The creatives are doing so much online to keep people at home entertained, and bring joy.
“From music, theatre to visual art like mine... we need slight escapism and to create for our nation’s mental health at home, we are very much focused on our physical health right now, obviously but keeping busy and our mental health is equally as important so we are ready to move forward after this.”
It is not the first creation that has captured people’s imaginations during the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this month, the artist, who appeared on Britain’s Got Talent, used hundreds of photos of real NHS workers in a stunning montage.
Wyburn, 30, made the “THANK YOU” piece as a tribute to healthworkers fighting the coronavirus crisis, which went on to feature on the front page of the Echo.
He said: “I recently created the NHS Thank You collage of staff faces, which the response was overwhelming. I’m thrilled to continue showing thank you in the best way I know how, through my art, and this time to an absolute living legend.”