When we managed to go out for a walk yesterday afternoon - between rain showers - we had quite an adventure. First we met Ben Wilson, who painted my picture, and then on the way back we noticed a little Dormouse sitting really still, in the middle of the pavement. Mum was worried that someone would tread on the mouse, then some other women came along and one of them was able to pick the little mouse up and put it somewhere safe. They were most impressed that I didn’t try to eat the mouse up: I said I prefer sausages!

I have an update on the condition of Ben Wilson, the artist who painted my dog portrait. Mum spoke to him yesterday and he is still in a lot of pain nearly ten days after his arrest for painting on chewing gum. Ben visited the hospital and he learned that he has two broken ribs. Ben’s paints are still in police custody - obviously a danger to the public!

Here are is another image by Dog Portrait Painter Ben Wilson, who was arrested last week for painting one of his iconic images on a patch of discarded chewing gum. Ben brightens up the streets and makes art from these annoying patches. Here is a picture of a pink elephant that he painted at the request of a four year old girl who lives locally.

Ben Wilson, the artist who painted my portrait in the street, came round to see us last night with some beautiful photos that he took of my little portrait. They look fab, and we are going to frame them. he even placed a penny beside the picture to show the scale. Ben is such a kind, gentle man who paints pictures of dogs and children to spread a bit of joy around. So we were very upset when he told us he was arrested and charged for doing a painting last weekend in the City of London near the Millennium Bridge. Ben knows that it is not illegal to paint on chewing gum - he has been doing it for years, but the Police would not accept his explanation. They insisted on arresting him for criminal damage, handcuffed him and took him to a police station. They demanded a DNA sample and when Ben refused they took the sample by force. He has bruises on his arms and chest pains. But it gets worse - they confiscated his paints and his digital camera so at the moment he cannot even paint. And remember this took place in central London where the Police are constantly alert to terrorist threats …..
I will update you as soon as we have more news.

Dad took a picture of us with Ben Wilson when we were giving him all my details for painting my portrait. You can see we were all on the pavement, it was outside a very nice florist near our house, where Ben was painting a pink elephant. Obviously an animal lover! I am at the seaside again for a couple of days, can’t wait to get back and see if my picture is ready.
Tags:dogs,weblog, pets,diary,dog food,

We are so excited - we finally met the famous local artist, Ben Wilson - aka the Chewing Gum Man. Ben paints tiny works in the streets around north London, using those blobs of old chewing gum as a canvas for the painting. You can see him at work in the picture, we introduced him and Mum said we admired the painting outside Dad’s house, then she asked if he’d like to add a portrait of Kevin the Collie to his portfolio. Ben said he’d love to paint my picture, and took a reference photo of me. I can’t wait: we asked for my picture to have a border of sausages - very appropriate!