Kirkbymoorside Artist Raises £800 For Ryedale Special Families

A mechanic from Kirkbymoorside, who turned his tools to art, has raised £800 for Ryedale Special Families from the sales of his Christmas cards. Rob Temple, 40, started drawing in October 2021 after borrowing some crayons from his friend’s 10-year-old daughter, Jessica Greetham. Before this Rob had not drawn since he was at school. Now, using the crayons to produce art is something he does daily.

“I just enjoy doing it,” said Rob.

His latest offering comes in the form of two Christmas card designs.The cards were sold at Cropton Garage, where Rob works as a mechanic - with proceeds going to Ryedale Special Families (RSF).

“I didn’t give customers their keys back until they bought them!” He joked.

Rob chose to support RSF following an appeal by Carrie Brackstone, whose daughter, Ruby, seven, is losing her sight.As reported by the Gazette and Herald, Carrie is urging anyone who would usually send a Christmas card to donate the money to RSF.The Malton-based charity supports families who have children and young adults with disabilities, illness and additional needs, throughout Ryedale.RSF now owns a piece of land in Pickering for a new purpose-built facility but needs to raise £1 million to begin the work.

Rob said he wanted to help the charity raise “as much money as possible” and offer the chance for people to donate and still receive a Christmas card.He added that the cards were well received, with people willing to contribute to the good cause.Looking to next Christmas, Rob aims to launch another Christmas card campaign raising money for charity.In the meantime, he says he will continue to draw and is even looking to scale back his work at the garage and start earning a living from art.

Rob added how he now uses his artwork to reflect his mood – with sharper drawings conveying his frustrations and softer pieces showing his joys.Something that has encouraged the artist to scale back on his day job is difficulties with his hand. As reported by the Gazette and Herald, Rob suffered nerve and tendon damage in his predominant left hand after following onto broken glass almost one year ago. Following the accident, Rob said he still struggles to feel with the hand – with just half of the feeling only now starting to return.

Thankfully he was able to adapt his drawing technique and continue with his, but he said the injury means he often faces difficulties when working at the garage.Rob, however, is determined not to let it stand in his way.

“There are people with a lot worse injuries,” he said.

You can follow Rob’s progress and view his work on his new website: https://robsrandomdrawings.com/