A former estate agent from West Sussex, Phil Heckels, has transformed his lack of artistic talent into a full-time profession by creating deliberately poor pet portraits. After sharing a humorous drawing of his own dog on social media, friends began requesting similar pictures of their pets, leading to widespread demand.
Heckels has now received over 100,000 requests for his unique artworks. His process involves seeing photos immediately before drawing, never restarting a piece, and spending no more than 10 minutes on each creation. While he does not charge for the portraits, instead suggesting charity donations, he generates income through merchandise and books.
Heckels recently noted that he sometimes receives criticism that his portraits are becoming "too good," but added that "you never have to wait too long for a real stinker to appear."