A CIRENCESTER artist’s portrait of a dog received the second highest bid in a recent charity auction, second only to a drawing by renowned pop artist Sir Peter Blake.

Justine Osborne from Cirencester, who drew the contemporary sketch of a whippet, was thrilled to see a bidding war over her work at the event at the town’s New Brewery Arts centre.

The secret auction, for postcard-size drawings, was put on to raise funds for the arts centre’s new Barrel Store development, a project to ensure long term art opportunities for the region.

More than £1,000 was collected on the night, where 40 postcards were exhibited.

“I’m pleased my dog sketch was so popular and can only imagine what could have been achieved if the event had been more widely publicised,” said Justine, who almost missed the auction due to a medical emergency.

“My own dog Morris, a basset hound, slipped a disc in his back and was suddenly paralysed on the night of the secret auction,” she said.

“I ran to the vet and quickly ran into the auction. Thankfully, he’s on the mend now.”

Of late, Justine has been unable to keep up with demand for her original paintings of dogs. She has since produced limited edition prints, which has resulted in buyers from around the world, including Russia, Australia and the USA snapping up her work.

Capitalising on this success, Justine has also launched a ceramics tableware range featuring the dog drawings too. Her work can be seen at Wadham Trading in the Corn Hall in Cirencester.

The auctioned image – titled ‘Sighthound Standing’ – is now also available as part of Justine's sketch print range.