Kirklees Snowdogs Support Life

This year I have had the pleasure of painting a Wild in Art sculpture in association with The Kirkwood which will be part of the fantastic Snowdogs Support Life art trail that runs from Friday 2nd September to Monday 31st October 2022 throughout Kirklees. Inspired by the rich history of the textile industry in Kirklees, this playful design is a modern, urban looking art sculpture, with a nod to the legacy of the textile industry within the local area. My dogs name is ‘Two Tone Textile Tilly’ and is located at Dewsbury train station, in West Yorkshire, as part of the trail. There are 67 Dogs in all. 30 large dogs like mine, and 37 smaller dogs all fantastically decorated by an array of wonderfully talented artists, both young and old.

Because my studio is quite a small space, I was given the opportunity to paint my Snowdog at Gomersal Primary School, where the children were able to watch me at work, ask me questions about how I work and what I was doing during each part of the painting process. The children were also given the opportunity to paint their own smaller Snowdog along side mine during my time there. A super collaborative project which the children got involved with, with excitement and creative verve.

This trail has been made all the more significant due to the recent passing of Raymond Briggs, the writer and artist who created the Snowman and Snowdog characters that we have all come to know and love.

This was  a world class public arts event, never seen before in West Yorkshire. I hope you had fun finding them all.

The design on my Snowdog was created with acrylic paints, acrylic paint pens,  acrylic spray-paints and a load of stencilling.