Phil Heckels admits that he is not an artist, so it’s easy for him to make fun of his skills. But one attempt at doing art for fun led to something life-changing.
It all started when he joined his six-year-old son in writing Thank You cards. He picked up a pen and started doodling a couple of pictures of their dog. Of course, he knew how those drawings turned out – wonky faces, misplaced eyes, asymmetrical body parts.
And for fun, he posted them on Facebook and wrote that his drawings are for sale, and each picture costs an estimated $400.
Now that Phil knows that what he did would change the lives, he will not put down his pencils and pens anytime soon.
To his surprise, his drawing gained lots of approval from friends. Some friends wanted to pay the price he posted! And more people wanted him to make portraits of their pets.
At the end of the first day, Paul was able to create five portraits. Eventually, Paul started receiving serious commission requests from strangers, and they are willing to pay for it. But, Paul thought of a better idea: He asked them to donate to a charity instead.
He then started setting up a Facebook Page called Pet Portraits by Hercule and the JustGiving page to raise money for Turning Tides, a charity for the homeless.
What started as a joke now turned into a charity project. The best part? He only needs to be himself, without having to be a great artist. It seems that while he was having fun drawing the pictures and people seem to be entertained by them.
Paul went with his joke price of £299. Good thing he writes portraits fast. The donations also came in quickly. Now, he has raised $28,000 and counting!
Source: CBS This Morning via YouTube