A HELENSBURGH artist’s sketch of Boris Johnson and Andrew Marr has achieved worldwide notoriety on Facebook.
Anita McLaren’s drawing of Johnson, a contender for the role of prime minister, and the BBC journalist features on “Terrible Art in Charity Shops”.
The popular, quirky site encourages members to post pictures of what they consider strange, unsettling or downright awful paintings on sale in charity shops.
Anita’s drawing was spotted in the Salvation Army shop in West Princes Street by Robert Gallacher from Erskine who told the Advertiser: “I come down to Helensburgh quite regularly and enjoy browsing in the charity shops.
“When I saw the drawing of Boris and Andrew Marr in the Salvation Army shop I took a picture of it.
“It was not my intention to be mean-spirited towards the artist or offend her in any way, and I do agree that the likenesses are good.”
When the Advertiser spoke to Robert he was in Bridport, Dorset, on a trip to meet up with followers of the “terrible art” site.
He said: “I’ve bought a lot of items from charity shops over the years and used to have a stall at The Barras in Glasgow where I sold them on.”
When the Advertiser told Anita her drawing was on the site, she laughed and said: “That is so funny. I am not bothered in the least.
“I did the drawing five or six years ago after watching Boris being interviewed by Andrew Marr and thought that Boris’s untamed hair contrasted with Andrew who has virtually no hair.”
Anita, an accomplished artist with her own website, is secretary of Helensburgh Art Club.
READ MORE: Helensburgh make-up student features in showcase eventShe donated the drawing to an art sale in the parish church and believes unsold items were then donated to charity shops.
She added: “Boris looked a good bit younger then, but it’s now very topical with him being in the running to be the next prime minister.”
Meanwhile, the sketch has attracted 120-odd likes and 110 tongue-in-cheek comments.
Someone wrote: “It’s actually not that bad but who the hell would want that?”
Another said: “We all go on about Boris combing his hair with a fire cracker, but poor Andrew Marr”.
Others likened the portraits to “Matt Lucas and Frasier’s brother”, “An Early sketch of Laurel and Hardy?” and “Pat Butcher & Ian Beale”.
Ben Allen asked: “Who on earth finds Bojo an artistic inspiration!? The mind boggles.”
When the Advertiser last checked, the piece was still on sale – a snip at £9.99.
You can see Anita’s paintings online by searching for Anita McLaren Art.
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