A NEW campaign has seen Sully based charity Ty Hafan to bring an interactive public art trail to Barry, the Vale and Cardiff.

The hospice’s Snowdogs: Tails in Wales campaign is asking artists to pick up their paintbrushes to support life-limited children and young people.

More than 40 large Snowdog sculptures will take up residence in Vale sites such as Barry Island and Penarth esplanade.

Artists will be designing the 1.5m-high Snowdog sculptures that will be sponsored by local organisations.

The sculptures will feature in streets, iconic buildings and open spaces this autumn.

Project manager Helen Gibbons said: “Our Snowdog sculptures are based on the much-loved novel and animation, The Snowman and the Snowdog, based on characters created by Raymond Briggs. Each dog needs to be given its own individual design.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for artists to unleash their creativity on a mass audience, as the Snowdog character and trail concept appeals to the family tourist market.

"The sculpture itself is a blank canvas for artists to express their style and creativity, to incorporate a theme or a story and marry a wide range of visual art with a new and innovative campaign.

“We would love to see the widest range of designs possible for the Tails in Wales project. We want to produce beautiful pieces of creative art from delicate or highly stylised designs to quirky and whacky themed ideas.”

Charlie Langhorne, director, Wild in Art, said: "We hope people will be inspired by the challenge of a three-dimensional canvas and being involved in such an exciting project. It will be a wonderful showcase for artistic talent.”

Artists who are selected will receive a £850 fee and their work will be showcased to a mass audience in some of Wales’ most famous public spaces.

Artist packs and application forms can be downloaded at www.snowdogstailsin.wales

Applications close at 5pm on Friday, April 28.

Designs will be shortlisted in May and sculptures need to be decorated during June and July.

Professional or amateur artists interested in submitting a design should contact project manager Helen Gibbons at helen.gibbons@tyhafan.org or call 07711 342086.