When art and charity meet
Forty fibre-glass donkeys will soon be taking to the streets of Weston-super-Mare, an event not to be missed. Some of these donkeys will then be auctioned off in November on the Grand Pier. Filmed live by the BBC, this auction will raise vital funds for Children in Need.
Amesbury based Contemporary Artist Irene Colquhoun is just one of the many artists involved in painting a donkey and was initially approached by Span Roofing Contractors Ltd from Weston Super Mare who offered to be her sponsor. “Painting our Donkey has been an incredible journey, the whole experience from receiving the donkey to painting it has been unique. As an Artist my work is quite contemporary - painting the donkey is light years away from what I normally do; possibly working on my present series of artwork “Sport and the Olympics” has made it easier for me to diversify” said Irene.
On accepting the challenge it didn’t take long before fellow local artists Julie Meikle, Barbara Fisher, Julie Scott and Kathy Gevaux expressed an interest in joining in. Irene explained “the donkey was due to arrive mid March so we each quickly jotted down a few designs beforehand to save time, Julie Meikle’s was more fitting which involved our immediate environment around Salisbury Plain with contemporary shapes and well known icons, the aim was to expand on her idea once the donkey arrived and create a contemporary vision of where we live”.
The next hurdle was to find somewhere to work from, painting a large fibre-glass animal was going to be a messy business and thankfully Amesbury Town Council offered the ladies a community venue to work from “It always fascinates me how people pull together where charity is concerned, we are very grateful” said Irene.
On the 13 April, Julie and Irene began by painting the base colours and the initial design, once the base was complete it was all hands on deck. The Artists were then able to introduce their own ideas and techniques to the design. The donkey “Puzzled Brian” was nicknamed such after various occurrences.
On completion the donkey will be returned to WestonsuperMare where he will be one of many on show, a real family occasion - to be auctioned off on the 19th November 2010, one will be converted into a money box to collect for the Hospice, one raffled off for the RNLI and many others auctioned off in aid of Children in Need.
Why “Puzzled Brian? Come along to Weston-super-Mare, you may find out!
For further information visit the following sites:
www.DonkeyParade.co.uk
www.irenecolquhounartist.co.uk
Amesbury based Contemporary Artist Irene Colquhoun is just one of the many artists involved in painting a donkey and was initially approached by Span Roofing Contractors Ltd from Weston Super Mare who offered to be her sponsor. “Painting our Donkey has been an incredible journey, the whole experience from receiving the donkey to painting it has been unique. As an Artist my work is quite contemporary - painting the donkey is light years away from what I normally do; possibly working on my present series of artwork “Sport and the Olympics” has made it easier for me to diversify” said Irene.
On accepting the challenge it didn’t take long before fellow local artists Julie Meikle, Barbara Fisher, Julie Scott and Kathy Gevaux expressed an interest in joining in. Irene explained “the donkey was due to arrive mid March so we each quickly jotted down a few designs beforehand to save time, Julie Meikle’s was more fitting which involved our immediate environment around Salisbury Plain with contemporary shapes and well known icons, the aim was to expand on her idea once the donkey arrived and create a contemporary vision of where we live”.
The next hurdle was to find somewhere to work from, painting a large fibre-glass animal was going to be a messy business and thankfully Amesbury Town Council offered the ladies a community venue to work from “It always fascinates me how people pull together where charity is concerned, we are very grateful” said Irene.
On the 13 April, Julie and Irene began by painting the base colours and the initial design, once the base was complete it was all hands on deck. The Artists were then able to introduce their own ideas and techniques to the design. The donkey “Puzzled Brian” was nicknamed such after various occurrences.
On completion the donkey will be returned to WestonsuperMare where he will be one of many on show, a real family occasion - to be auctioned off on the 19th November 2010, one will be converted into a money box to collect for the Hospice, one raffled off for the RNLI and many others auctioned off in aid of Children in Need.
Why “Puzzled Brian? Come along to Weston-super-Mare, you may find out!
For further information visit the following sites:
www.DonkeyParade.co.uk
www.irenecolquhounartist.co.uk