Trunk of affection: Husband and wife team up to paint elephant sculpture for March of the Elephants

Kieron and Lynsey Reilly, from Sutton Coldfield, are two of the many artists decorating a herd of elephant sculptures which will be bringing joy and colour to Lichfield, Tamworth and Sutton Coldfield this summer.

Having met against the backdrop of creativity at art school, Kieron and Lynsey have embarked on numerous artistic collaborations over the years.

The sculptures will be part of an unforgettable art trail, March of the Elephants, taking place from 1 July in Lichfield, Tamworth and Sutton Coldfield. Once Kieron and Lynsey have decorated the sculpture for this trail, they will have taken part in over 20 Wild in Art trails nationwide.

Lynsey said: “We’re always excited to paint these sculptures, but we’re even more excited as this one is so local, and we’re over the moon we will be able to visit the trail. I think if we saw these and we didn’t have our own one we would be a bit sad!”

Kieron and Lynsey are both creative in the work they do outside of sculpture painting. Lynsey works as a scenic artist and Kieron is a caricaturist.

Kieron said: “I draw caricatures at weddings, corporate events, parties – anywhere people let me draw their face, I’ll be there!”

Although the designs are still being kept top secret, Lynsey gives a little insight into what people can expect from their elephant.

She said: “We took inspiration from all the stained glass you can find around Lichfield, especially the Lichfield Cathedral, and then we liked the idea of having so many colours, making it really bright and loving. St Giles is such a wonderful place and there’s so much love, we just wanted to represent that as well as pulling in things from the environment.

“Elephants have the second biggest heart in the animal kingdom, so we thought this design was fitting! We also thought it was nice to tie in the message that everyone who works at St Giles obviously have massive hearts and are super kind.”

Talking about the reason they wanted to take part, the duo said: “We loved the sculpture of the elephant, so we couldn’t resist submitting a design anyway, but especially when we saw the cause we really wanted to be a part of it, and to be able to help raise money.

“On top of that, it’s a great opportunity and stage for artists, new and established, to showcase to a wide audience that might not usually come across their work.

“I’ve had a sneaky peek at some of the other elephants, and the standard is really high. It will be great seeing them in the sunshine come summer!”

At the end of the trail, the elephants will be sold at auction to raise vital funds for St Giles Hospice who provide free care and support to local people, and their loved ones, living with a terminal illness.

Keep up to date with the herd at www.marchoftheelephants.co.uk

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St Giles Hospice is a registered charity offering specialist palliative and end of life care, free of charge for people living with terminal illnesses, as well as providing support for their families and carers. Our services are rated as‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission.

We care for patients from across our catchment area, which ranges from the West Midlands to East Staffordshire.

Care is offered at the hospice’s centres in Whittington and Sutton Coldfield as well as in patients’ own homes across the region.

We spend around £10million a year providing our specialist services and, with 25% of this funded by the Government, we rely heavily on donations and income generation from the local community.