Peter Dixon's Dorset paintings on display at La Storta Gallery

Peter Dixon, 36, from Waytown, has completed 29 A5 paintings featuring iconic sites across Dorset as part of his art challenge fundraiser for Huntington’s Disease Association.

The charity was chosen as Peter's wife, Joey, has family who have been affected by the disease - which damages nerve cells in the brain causing them to stop working properly. 

READ MORE: Waytown artist Peter Dixon's 29 day art challenge

Peter set himself a goal of creating 29 paintings, one for each day of February, choosing various areas around Dorset such as the Golden Cap, West Bay, the Mary Anning statue in Lyme, Durdle Door, and Portland Bill lighthouse.

His collection is now being exhibited at the La Storta Gallery in Venice. The venue was chosen as the couple wished to visit the area for artistic inspiration. Peter subsequently acquired a place on an artist residency programme at Venezia Contemporanea, allowing him to showcase his work in the gallery. 

Each picture displayed had an accompanying QR code which allows visitors to donate to the charity. 

Looking back, Peter is immensely proud of completing the challenge, especially in raising money for a charity close to his heart and getting to showcase his work to an international audience. 

He said: “To experience people’s expressions, seeing people walk past looking through the windows, entering the competition through donations. It means a lot especially seeing complete strangers with no ties to the local area that are actually enjoying it.

"It was a bit like a marathon, nearer the end it got really difficult but having that charitable aspect alongside it really helped. Every time someone donated it gave me a boost and reminded me why I was doing this."

Peter's fundraiser has raised £1,170 and one of the donators had the opportunity to win the 29th painting in a draw - a landscape of Venice to mark the conclusion of his artistic journey. 

His wife Joey is proud of Peter for completing the journey and by exhibiting the couple hope it’ll boost local tourism by introducing more people to the picturesque scenes across Dorset.

"We hoped it might steer them towards our way. A group of three came in to the gallery and said they travelled to England in the past but have never been to the South West. They said they just had to visit these places because it looked so beautiful on the paintings."

Both of them shares her immense gratitude for all the donations received which Joey believes will go a long way in improving awareness of the disease. 

She said: "It's really emotional to be honest. It brings it back how important it is that this charity has more visibility.

"It means this charity might be something people decide to give to in the future. It’s a horrible disease which can swallow people up so when more people know about the charity, it may lead to more options to have funding.

"Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. It means a lot to us and it will help so many people who have been touched by horrible disease."