Glittering Adele artwork to raise funds for child charity
A Whangarei artist who sent a stunning welcome message to singer-songwriter Adele is now turning her heartfelt gesture into a fundraiser for poverty-stricken children. Jessie Rose Foote is auctioning a painting she did of Adele - literally, a glittering tribute to the star - on Trade Me to raise money for the charity, KidsCan.
Working by the glare of her car headlights near Whangarei's Te Matau a Pohe bridge, a friend of Ms Foote's videoed her night-time creation of the large portrait which came to glorious life when glitter she threw on to the canvas stuck to outlines and blocks of paint, revealing Adele's face. She then painted in a written message welcoming Adele to New Zealand.
The video has been viewed more than 87,000 times on Facebook, and led to Ms Foote being interviewed on TV1's evening magazine show, Seven Sharp. The auction site has also taken more than 6000 hits, still has a week to run, "and is almost up to a grand already".
"Part of the reason I wanted to do the Adele Welcome was to show that New Zealanders can think outside the square and that we can be a bit different," Ms Foote said. "Mine was an 'artist welcome' but that's just one example. We are such a creative country there's so many ways we show that."
Adele to-a-T as the large portrait is, and warm as the welcome message is, it is the stardust effect revealed in the video that is its real magic. "It's not a masterpiece. The painting itself was created for the video rather than the other way round, but it is striking," Ms Foote said.