I was very honoured to be asked to paint Classic Gromit, Classic Feathers, and Classic Wallace for Gromit Unleashed 2 this summer. They were a joy to paint – the main thing was remembering not to hug them whilst their paint was wet!
‘Caractacus Paws’, designed by the Grand Appeal to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, was specifically raising money for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Bristol, so being asked to paint him was really special.
I painted Wallace and Caractacus in the secret Gromit headquarters, so was lucky enough to see many of the other sculptures being painted. Being surrounded by so many talented artists came in especially handy when, as a non-tea-drinker, I needed to ask for help with mixing the paint colour for Wallace’s cup of tea.
After being part of the trail around Bristol over the summer, all of the Gromit Unleashed sculptures were auctioned. I am pleased to say that these four combined raised a total of £123,000 for the Grand Appeal in aid of Bristol Children`s Hospital.