Wakefield artist to put 'eccentric' dad's ashes in painting

An artist who intends to add her father's ashes to a painting says she wants to help others "immortalise" their loved ones in art.

Lanson Moore, 38, from Wakefield, said she had long thought about making a piece of art for her father, Kev, who died from lymphoma in December 2016.

Ms Moore said making the work had been a "healing" process.

She has secured funding from Arts Council England to work on 10 commissions for bereaved families.

The full-time artist and mother-of-one said of her father: "I felt like he was on the journey with me. He always supported my art."

Ms Moore has called the work "Abu in Port Lligat". Abu is short for Abuelo - grandfather in Spanish.

It is what Ms Moore's father asked his grandchildren to call him, she said, while Port Lligat is a small village on the Costa Brava.

"He wanted me to paint this picture for him to put on his wall. He wanted me to do a big mural of one of his favourite landscapes, which is Port Lligat by Salvador Dali," said Ms Moore.

"My dad loved Spain and he loved going off the beaten track and this is where Dali actually lived for most of the later part of his life."

Ms Moore said her father was "such a character", adding he was "quite expressive and eccentric".

She consulted carefully with her family to ensure she got the painting just right.

"I'm an abstract artist, so my gut instinct was always to produce an abstract piece of art," she said.

"My sister and brother-in-law were actually quite heavily involved in the design of the artwork as well because it is going to be a piece for the entire family."

The final result is a large painting of pink, red, blue, and yellow mountains, the tops of which are marked with a sparkling gold line.

Her father's ashes are being embedded into the line.

She added she is "really passionate" about being able to do the same for others.

"I can offer that service to other people who may also want to immortalise their loved ones in art," she said.

"If I can create something where as soon as they look at that piece it reminds them of that person, then it will be quite special."