Skipper the Snowdog is one of 60 Great North Snowdogs is an exciting public art trail, based on the Snowman and the Snowdog, by Raymond Briggs. The project by Wild in Art and St Oswolds Childrens Hospice brings together locally and nationally acclaimed artists, North East businesses, schools, community groups and the general public to create a sculpture trail across the North East. The trail will run from the 19th September for 10 weeks, followed by a public auction for the Sculptures to raise funds for St Oswolds Childrens Hospice.
My involvement in the project began earlier this year when I entered the competition to paint a Great North Snowdog. Hedging my bets I entered two designs hoping to maybe get one picked, but luckily for me both of my designs took the fancy of the Sponsors.
One of my designs based on the North Shields Fish Quay was selected by the sponsor DFDS Seaways and named Skipper the Snowdog. It was a perfect match! DFDS had some exciting plans for Skipper, including a video and a trip on Princess Seaways to Amsterdam.
Painting Skipper took over a week to paint and I videoed the whole process. It is the first time I have ever painted a 3d sculpture and it proved an exciting challenge. Skipper was too large to paint in my studio so I joined an army of other artists to paint him in a warehouse at a top secret location!
Once he was finished DFDS interviewed me about the project and made this video clip about Skipper and his travels to Amsterdam. We had great fun working together on such a unique project and it was a delight to be able to take my family on board ship to see him in place on board the ferry.
You can see Skipper on North Shields Fish Quay during the trail and remember to take a selfie with him using the hashtag #skipperthesnowdog and #greatnorthsnowdogs. If you post your pictures on the DFDS facebook page they are running a competition to win an original painting of mine.
If you think you could give Skipper a good home he will be auctioned off on the 6th December to raise funds for St Oswolds Childrens Hospice. Contact me for your invite!
Happy Snowdog hunting!
