Andrew draws on talent to help beat Alzheimer's

A CAPITAL-based artist is set to donate the profits of more than 50 sketches of the city to a leading Alzheimer's charity, after exhibiting his creations in one of Edinburgh's top galleries.

Design Agency owner Andrew Glidden – son of former Hearts cup-winning captain Freddie – began his 52-week sketching challenge last year, with the aim of quickly drawing whatever he wanted during his 15-minute lunch break.

Andrew admitted he didn’t start the challenge to exhibit or sketch the works, but after he posted some of the images on social media, interest grew quickly and after being encouraged by friends, he decided to auction them off.

He is now hoping to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Research UK in tribute to his father, who was diagnosed with the condition several years ago.

Freddie, now 91, captained the Tynecastle side in back-to-back cup wins during the 1950s, winning the League Cup in 1955 and the Scottish Cup in 1956.

Andrew’s work will go on display at the White Stuff gallery on George Street from Saturday, October 20 until Friday, October 26, after which it will be auctioned.

He recalled: “As a professional commercial designer, I found myself spending almost the entire working week sitting at my desk in our George Street studio in front of the computer, eating lunch at the same desk. I needed to break the cycle.”

“I hatched a plan to get out of the studio one lunchtime a week for a whole year and do a sketch of whatever took my fancy and to make things interesting, set a maximum time limit of 15 minutes per sketch.”

“My mantra was ‘I draw what I feel, not what I see’ and friends and colleagues were encouraging, so all of a sudden here we are.”

Andrew added: “Since the whole idea was never intended to be about making money, I decided the purest conclusion was to donate all profits from selling the original sketches at the exhibition to a worthy cause, and since my 91-year old father suffers from Alzheimer’s Dementia I, which is a terrible disease, I chose Alzheimer’s Research UK in the hope that some good may come from the donation which would benefit all in the future.”

Andrew has also created a book detailing his journey from desk to sketch, which will be available to purchase along with the works.

All profits from the sale of both the book and the sketches themselves will go directly to Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Kyle Lockhart, Alzheimer’s Research UK Regional Fundraising Officer for Scotland, thanked Andrew for his donation, adding: “We are so grateful to have the support of Andy at his upcoming art exhibition. There are around 7000 people in Edinburgh and 70,000 people in Scotland with dementia and the condition has a devastating effect on families.”