Man's 'rubbish' portraits go viral, fetch over Rs 3 crore, lead him to quit his job, know how

An unbelievable story has caught everybody's attention on social media where a man has earned a whopping Rs 3 crore by selling his sketches and paintings which he himself has called 'rubbish'. Now the question remains, how did he manage to see his 'rubbish' paintings for such a massive amount. He started his paintings in 2020 and by 2023 he sold them for 300,000 pounds (over Rs 3 crore), however, reports say that he has now earned 400,000 pounds by selling these paintings. But what is interesting is that he has not earned even a penny for himself but raised this money for charity. 

The BBC report has said that Hercule Van Wolfwinkle is a pet-portrait artist who's official name is Phil Heckles who comes from West Sussex. He started these portraits from 2020 and after years of realising his potential in selling portraits at such prices, he quit his full time job in commercial property and became completely became a full-time artist and fundraiser. He told the BBC, "I get told off by my supporters for calling my work rubbish."

How did the 'rubbish' painter started his journey

At a random day, he was colouring with his son and made a doodle portrait of their pet dog. He then posted that sketch on his Facebook account and for fun commissioned his sketch for Rs 299 pounds. But this fun became real when he saw that people started sending him requests. “I think people just found them funny, at a time when there's not loads to smile about,” BBC quoted him as saying. He then started making more such portraits and the same year these 'rubbish' portraits fetched him 5,000 pounds for a homeless charity. He drew pictures of pets and sold them online. He posted his drawings on social media for free and even added fake reviews which went viral, getting likes. 

After his paintings went viral people started offering him payments but he refused as he believed that he "couldn’t take their money—the pictures are rubbish.” But this gave him an idea for a better cause and he made a 'JustGiving' page and asked people to make charity there. The page received many donations and within a little more than a month his doodles became famous and the 38-year-old raised 4,903 pounds and gave it for 'Turning Tides' a charity that work towards helping rough sleepers and aim to end homelessness.