Joe Scarborough Sheffield legend to donate ten signed prints to care homes
"We just wanted to 'do our bit' and care homes were what first came to mind," says local veteran artist.
Veteran Sheffield artist Joe Scarborough is hoping to spread joy to places that have been hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic by donating a series of works to care homes.
Many care home residents are of a similar age to the 82-year-old Scarborough so he and his team are extremely concerned about those in danger, he told Now Then.
"After talking as a team, we just wanted to 'do our bit' and care homes were what first came to mind more than anything," he said.
"We wanted to try to brighten up the day in this tough time. I'd like to think my work does this along with sparking thought and emotions when looking at the art."
He continued: "I'm working on a piece for the NHS as well, but we felt care homes had been overlooked somewhat so we wanted to focus on these for now."
Scarborough, who is most famous for painting humorous scenes of Sheffield life, is about to donate ten signed prints to care homes all over the country.
He said that many others have applied, but that his team knew they wouldn't be able to help all of them at once.
"We were speaking to numerous care homes through direct message," he said. "If they were local, we would personally take the prints to them and leave them at distance."
According to his team, Scarborough is "doing fine" amid these trying times and is keeping his mind active on his boat by "sharing his old stories and of course painting new projects."
Scarborough was commemorated as one of the Sheffield Legends with a star on the 'Walk of Fame' outside Sheffield Town Hall in 2008.
