Armed with a large pot of orange paint and bucketfuls of talent, it took Aberdeen street artist Chris Webster about five hours to complete his latest massive masterpiece.
The huge mural of Charlie House mascot, Charlie Dog, has been created at the charity’s Curated Aberdeen market in the Bon Accord Centre.
Chris, who works under the name Reckless Grafitti, told us about how he gave up work as an electrician last year to turn his newfound passion into a career.
The artist, who donated his services for the project, was delighted when asked to help as he has been a steadfast supporter of Charlie House for years.
He said: “It was quite fun to do something big and bold.
“Compared to some of my jobs, like painting the entire back of the Merkland stand for the Dons, it was nice and simple.
“My dad has been involved with Charlie House for about five years, and I have been to some of their fundraising balls.
“Both of my wee boys sleep with Charlie House dogs we bought during charity auctions for them.
“I was really glad to be asked to help, and of course donated my time free of charge.”
Chris credits the influence of Aberdeen’s Nuart festival with sparking a rising interest in the artform.
He believes he might not have been able to transition his talents into a full-time job without the phenomenon bringing extra eyes to the medium.
Painting became a passion about two years ago, and it became Chris’s primary source of income in January.
He is now fully booked for the next three months, and has been working everywhere from Essex to Elgin.
“I’m actually an electrician to trade and used to do a lot of work offshore” Chris added.
“But I have packed all that in to be an artist full-time.”
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Darren Lynch, who manages Curated Aberdeen, reckons the mural has brought a touch of Nuart-style vibrancy to the market.
Darren said: “I couldn’t believe it when I got in touch with Chris out of the blue, and it turned out his dad was involved with the charity for years.
“It was just chance, it was such a coincidence.
“Having the mural here makes it feel more like the unit belongs to Charlie House, rather than it being a former River Island.
“It makes it feel more like home, like we belong here.”
You can see more of Chris’s artwork on his Reckless Grafitti Instagram page.
The money raised from stallholder fees at Curated Aberdeen goes towards Charlie House’s Big Build Project.
The charity is raising £8 million to create a new purpose-built facility in the city for families who have children with life-limiting conditions.
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