Want to help support the Scottish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals? They rely only on our public donations!
Want to own an ORIGINAL, one-off animal sketch at a very affordable price?
Why not join the 100 Sketches in 100 Days Charity Event?
Helen Wilson loves animals and is a Scottish artist who currently lives in Lasswade with her dog and horse while her partner is busy running the family farm in Kelso. Helen draws and paints animals to order when people send in photographs of their pets but from the 1st February to 11th May, Helen will be drawing 100 original sketches in 100 days , including dogs, cats, horses, wildlife and farm animals.
Helen says, “I love animals and like many people try to help animals in need. As I see the time and effort other people put in to help pets in danger or needing homes, I have increasingly felt I haven’t been doing enough. So after starting to think about how I could best contribute, the 100 Sketches idea started to develop.
“Deciding on the animal charity was a tough one as so many need our help, but as a Scottish artist it made sense to start at home with the SSPCA. This charity receives no government or private funding and is also increasingly under pressure as the global financial situation means people are abandoning more and more animals.”
So how does it work?
Helen will be drawing a sketch every day from the 1st February to 11th May and each sketch will be up for auction. Already people have been sending in amazing photos – 687 and counting – and Helen says – keep them coming!
The most important thing is that these sketches are all originals and whoever wins the sketch will own a unique item – a one-of-a-kind. They will not be reproduced anywhere else as either a print or a card.
The sketches will typically be A3 in size (approx. 59 cm by 42 cm). They will mainly be in pastels or pencil and either in colour or black and white. Helen’s fully finished portraits or originals typically take 3 to 15 days so she says “These will be looser, edgier, maybe a bit different?”
So how do you join in?
Just follow Helen on Facebook by liking her page and look out for the 100 Sketches posting each day. Each sketch will be posted on Helen’s Facebook page by 10am each morning and the highest bidder by 10pm that day wins that day’s sketch! There is a minimum bid of £10. To bid you just leave a comment with your bid for any sketch that takes your fancy. Remember it’s an auction and you may get out-bid. So get your ebay heads on and stay focused!
The winner pays for their sketch through the Just-Giving page so you can be reassured that all money is going direct to the SSPCA. You have 48 hours to pay. If the winner doesn’t pay in time then the sketch is offered to the next highest bidder. All postage and packaging will be paid by Helen to anywhere in the world, but if anyone wants to send stamps, postal tubes, bottles of wine………. she is open to offers.
How else can you help?
Helen says “We want to reach as many people worldwide as we can to make this a huge success. So please please get your friends and family involved and pass on the link to any other animal groups or clubs who would like to support and promote the event.”
Thought you might like to know that Helen raised £16,830 raised in 100 days. One sketch alone fetched £260.
Every single one of Helen’s works has been purchased online. “Social media has been a great tool because I am now in touch with people across the world,†she says. “One woman from Houston, Texas has bought six of my drawings. Others have purchased three or four. I did not know these people. They just heard about it through Facebook and Twitter.â€
Helen has raised additional funds by holding online raffles.
“During my first raffle, at day 80, I sold tickets for £5 each and I raised £1,600. At day 90, I dropped the price of a ticket to just £1 and I raised £1,224. After receiving lots of requests I also decided at the last minute to raffle the final sketch in day 100 and it raised £2,486. The whole event has raised £16,830†she concludes.