The pet portraits that are so bad, they’re good – and helping to raise charity cash
By his own admission, Phil Heckles’s pet portraits are terrible! Janey Swanson finds out more.
INEVER would have believed my rubbish doodles would attract such attention,” Phil Heckles says. Phil’s portraits of pets with cross-eyes, dodgy legs, squint snouts, crooked beaks and wonky bodies have raised thousands of pounds for charity.
“I’ve never been good at drawing and I definitely didn’t study art when I was at school!
“I only drew the picture that started all this, of our Labrador Narla, to help my six-year-old son make a thank-you card for his grandparents.”
Phil thought his drawing of Narla was so bad, he posted it on Facebook, where he goes by the name Hercule van Wolfwinkle, with a caption joking that it was for sale at the “bargain” price of £299!
“Incredibly, my not-very-good portrait of Narla sparked a deluge of requests for pet portraits from friends and friends of friends, which made me laugh!” Phil exclaims.
“I did a few, and then one of my mates insisted on paying for his dog’s portrait.
“I couldn’t possibly charge for Hercule van Wolfwinkle’s awful artwork!
“Instead, I suggested he made a donation to Turning Tides, a charity that gives homeless people in Worthing the help and services they desperately need.”
Soon after that, Phil’s dodgy drawings became an internet sensation.
Amazed by the reaction, he decided that, in return for a donation to Turning Tides, pet owners could request portraits of their furry friends – and the messages flooded in!
“Since then, I’ve drawn about three hundred and fifty pets, including lots of dogs, cats, horses, hamsters and rabbits, a few lizards, a handful of budgies, an alpaca, a tarantula and a house pig.”
Phil’s portraits have already raised almost £34,000 for Turning Tides.
“I also drew a portrait of a hedgehog, although I’m not too sure if that was a pet or simply a hedgehog snapped running across someone’s garden!”
Phil bases each portrait on the photo sent to him by the proud owner of the pet in question.
“To date, I’ve had well over seven thousand requests! Unfortunately, I can’t do them all, so it’s very much a lottery which pets I draw.
“I might select a request from the bottom of my inbox or ask my wife to think of a name. If she says ‘Claire’, I’ll find a message from someone called Claire and draw her pet.
“At other times, a message will pop up when I’m on Facebook, I’ll look at the photo and be inspired to start drawing.
“It’s a very random process – although I now tend to look for something that catches my eye: a pet with a bit of character.”
Phil, who works as an estate agent, currently devotes every minute of his free time to drawing.
“I get home from a busy day at work, spend a bit of time with our little ’un until he goes to bed, and then do a few drawings, perhaps at the kitchen counter while tea is cooking or sitting on the sofa while Ashley watches Netflix.
“I try to get a few more pet portraits drawn at weekends, and if I get a moment at lunchtime, out comes the photocopier paper and my son’s colouring pencils.
“It’s all been a bit bonkers for the last couple of months.” He laughs.
“None of this was planned, but Hercule van Wolfwinkle’s pet portraits are a highly enjoyable way to raise a lot of money for a very worthwhile charity.
“In fact, if I could find a way of doing this full time – and earning money – I’d grab it with both hands!
“I’m having so much fun with my badly drawn pets!” ■