For the past six months, a famous north-east artist has been using his creative flair to produce a special set of artwork for an incredibly worthy cause.
Howard Butterworth spent six months producing 12 paintings of 12 different landscapes capturing the beauty of his beloved Scotland, all in aid of the ARCHIE Foundation, the official charity of the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.
And last night, he sold off his artwork to the highest bidders at an auction at the Marcliffe Hotel at Pitfodels as his fundraising journey came to a close, raising more than £10,000 of vital funds.
A range of items went under the hammer at the auction, including some extra special pieces created by seven-year-old Aberdeen girl, Abigail Mitchell, who is a patient at the hospital.
The piece which raised the most cash for ARCHIE was a beautiful painting of Eilean Donan Castle by Mr Butterworth, which went for £4,200.
And one of Abigail’s artistic creations managed to work bidders into a frenzy, raising £300.
Mr Butterworth committed 35% of proceeds from the auction to ARCHIE to boost the charity’s plans to install a £50,000 digital gallery at the Royal Aberdeen’s Children’s Hospital.
The gallery is part of the charity’s major campaign to repair 10 decades of wear and tear at the Foresterhill site, and will be installed on the bridge that links the children’s hospital with Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
The digital gallery will have the capacity to show a whole range of art on its electronic canvasses, and will display the works of professionals as well as children who want to get arty during their stay at the children’s hospital.
There are also plans to create a calendar comprised of Mr Butterworth’s 12 images and businesses will be given the chance to sponsor the months.
Cassie Thompson, director of fundraising for the ARCHIE Foundation, was delighted with the response to the auction.
She said: “Thanks to Howard Butterworth’s amazing efforts and the artistic flair of Abigail we have raised over £10,000 towards the digital art gallery for the Royal Aberdeen Children’s hospital.
“It has been a wonderful night.”