Pet artist Hercule Van Wolfwinkle raises £450,000 for charity
A pet-portrait artist who draws self-proclaimed "rubbish" pictures has raised more than £450,000 for charity after his latest fundraising challenge. Phil Heckels, from Worthing, West Sussex, began working under the alias Hercule Van Wolfwinkle in 2020.He has just completed challenges and drawn portraits in 15 locations around the UK where StreetVet, one of the charities he supports, is based. Mr Heckels, who raised more than £38,000 in eight days, said: "I was completely overwhelmed, humbled and grateful to have had such amazing support."
The artist and fundraiser travelled 1,800 miles (2,897km) around the UK.Amongst his charity challenges was getting a tattoo in Brighton, abseiling the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, shaving his head using dog clippers in Cornwall, learning the bagpipes in Glasgow and running a 5K dressed as a dog in Cambridge.He said: "The highlight for me was probably the final day when I was joined by a group of volunteers to walk 18 miles along the Thames Path and then climb over the O2."The reality is that the StreetVet volunteers who give up their time to do their work are the true heroes and it was lovely to spend time with them."Mr Heckels added: "I hated walking around in fancy dress all week."I really have a fear of heights, so my abseil was really horrible for me."
Mr Heckels, who had his second book of his artwork published in April, has won awards for his fundraising and even embarked on a 24-hour charity "drawathon" event.It began in 2020 when he drew his own dog and put it on Facebook, offering paid-for commissions as a joke, but genuine requests flooded in.The trademark wonky legs and crooked eyes have proved really popular with pet owners.
All of the pet portraits are uploaded to Hercule Van Wolkwinkle's social media pages in return for a discretionary donation to one of his two chosen charities: Turning Tides, a homelessness charity, and StreetVet.Mr Heckels said: "My next big target - raising half a million pounds - suddenly feels in reach."It is such a big milestone that I never thought I would achieve."
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