Fatboy Slim artwork to raise money for animals

A new East Sussex art exhibition featuring a chart-topping DJ and the daughter of a British comedy icon is to raise money for animals in need in the UK and overseas.

The Down To The Bone 2 showcase in Rottingdean includes work by Sarah Sellers, whose late father Peter shot to fame in the 1960s with The Goon Show before starring in the hit Pink Panther films.

Hove DJ Fatboy Slim, whose real name is Norman Cook, has also made a piece of art inspired by his cats.

Ms Sellers, who created the oil painting of her dad to celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday, said the cause was "close to my heart".

"The first Down To The Bone exhibition was 11 years ago, which is when I first got involved with Helping Paws, the fundraiser behind it," said Ms Sellers, 67.

"I just thought the work they did was brilliant and wanted to help out."

She added that she hopes the current exhibition, which runs at The Grange Gallery in Rottingdean until 6 April, would exceed the £27,000 raised by its predecessor.

And things are very much on target, her artwork entitled Life Is A State Of Mind - featuring her father and his Maltese terrier - having already sold for £500 via a silent auction.

The painting's title is a quote from Sellers' acclaimed 1979 film Being There, for which he received his second Oscar nomination.

Also among the 54 artists from around the country who have contributed paintings and sculptures to the fundraising exhibition are vet and broadcaster Dr Marc Abrahams OBE and Romany Mark Bruce, the creator and painter of the Brighton AIDS Memorial.

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