Housing

Rubbish pet portraits: Wonky critters raise £75,000 for homeless charity

Throughout lockdown, these badly drawn boys and girls have raised tens of thousands for charity... and now they're about to star in their own book.

Rubbish Pet Portraits gallery

Rubbish Pet Portraits by Hercule Van Wolfwinkle

Lockdown brought out the best and worst in people. For Phil Heckels from Worthing, his best intentions were equalled only by his awful artistic skills. The Big Issue first brought you the story of his rubbish pet portraits back in October, but since then he has raised tens of thousands more for his local homeless charity.

During lockdown, attempting to encourage his six-year-old son Sam to pick up some pencils instead of playing computer games, Heckels decided to draw their dog Nala. The result was rubbish – so bad in fact Heckels shared it on Facebook, jokily offering his services: “Just send me a photo and I can produce a unique and wonderful piece of art that will grace any home and make the memories of your furry friends last a lifetime.” Amazingly, he got six commissions straight away.

Support The Big Issue and our vendors by signing up for a subscription.

Heckels – who gave himself a pretentious sounding nom de plume, Hercule Van Wolfwinkle – explains: “Two days later my portrait requests were into double figures and I was beginning to receive friend requests from people I didn’t know, asking for pictures. By day three, I had a waiting list of over 20 people, so to see how far the joke might go, I set up the Facebook page ‘Pet Portraits By Hercule’.”

Though Hercule may be cheeky, he certainly didn’t have the nerve to charge for artworks. Instead in October he set up a Just Giving fundraiser for homeless charity Turning Tides and began raising hundreds, then thousands of pounds.

“There’s the old saying, ‘Charity begins at home’, and homelessness is an issue that it is quite literally on our doorsteps,” Heckels/Hercule says. “But not only does charity begin at home, EVERYTHING begins at home… with a home.”

So far, the rubbish pet portraits have raised a staggering £75,000 and that figure is set to increase with the publication of a book collecting Hercule’s masterpieces together. For your delight, we’ve shared a gallery of them below, with the original photos and Hercule’s thoughts on each.

Rubbish Pet Portraits by Hercule Van Wolfwinkle is out on May 27

Marley

Rubbish Pet Portraits: Marley
marley
Rubbish Pet Portraits: Marley in wellies

Hercule Van Wolfwinkle: “This is the lovely Marley, who looks extremely dashing in his wellies. Sadly, Marley is no longer with us, and I really wanted to do his family proud with this one.”

Owner review: “We really miss Marley. If I ever think I might be forgetting what he looked like, I can gaze at your portrait and know it was nothing like that.”

Charlie

Rubbish Pet Portraits: Charlie the hamster
Charlie-hamster
Rubbish Pet Portraits: Charlie the hamster

Hercule: “I’ve had to use all of my artistry to imagine what a Chihuahua would look like without a Dentastix in its mouth. I think I’ve nailed it.”

[Editor’s note: We know this is a hamster. Phil’s animal identifying skills are sometimes as questionable as his animal drawing skills. See also: the lovely “cat” below.]

Balancing act

Rubbish Pet Portraits: Balancing skills
dog-with-ball-on-head
Rubbish Pet Portraits: Balancing skills

Hercule: “I loved drawing this handsome chap. And what a clever boy he is; apparently he can balance that ball on his head for about 20 minutes.”

Leonardo Caprichos

Rubbish Pet Portraits: Leonardo Caprichos
crouching-cat
Rubbish Pet Portraits: Leonardo Caprichos

Hercule: “This mischievous-looking creature belongs to Allie Jane. I don’t know what his name is but I’ve been calling him Leonardo Caprichos. Leo likes pouncing at the milkman, chasing vans and mooching around the charity shops.”

Cassius Stay

Rubbish Pet Portraits: Assuming he’s a boy
sitting-dog
Rubbish Pet Portraits: Assuming he’s a boy

Hercule: “I’ve named this pooch Cassius Stay. I couldn’t draw this in my usual ultra-realistic style as I had to put a pair of pants on him. I mean, I’m no vet, but I’m assuming he’s a boy.”

Olivia Ovaltine

Rubbish Pet Portraits: dog with tongue out
dog-with-tongue-out
Rubbish Pet Portraits: Not a cat

Hercule: “This beautiful cat belongs to Joanna. I’ve named her Olivia Ovaltine. Ms Ovaltine is no stranger to a bit of fame as she once appeared in the local newspaper at a protest about the closure of the public toilets.”

All photos courtesy of Hercule Van Wolfwinkle

Support the Big Issue

For over 30 years, the Big Issue has been committed to ending poverty in the UK. In 2024, our work is needed more than ever. Find out how you can support the Big Issue today.
Vendor martin Hawes

Recommended for you

View all
Housing crisis: Shared ownership an 'unbearable reality' which has 'failed to deliver', MPs warn
Housing

Housing crisis: Shared ownership an 'unbearable reality' which has 'failed to deliver', MPs warn

Most tenants have never heard of the beleaguered Renters Reform Bill
Renters and the Renters Reform Bill
Renting

Most tenants have never heard of the beleaguered Renters Reform Bill

ONS U-turns on plan to stop publishing data on deaths of homeless people after furious outcry
homeless deaths
homelessness

ONS U-turns on plan to stop publishing data on deaths of homeless people after furious outcry

UK housing is worst value for money of any advanced economy: 'We are a joke'
UK houses are the worst value for money
Housing

UK housing is worst value for money of any advanced economy: 'We are a joke'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know