Friday night’s gala CelebriArt event, which saw paintings by over 35 personalities and celebrities auctioned at the Hyatt Regency Perth, has raised over $80,000 for the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.
Celebrities who took part included John Worsfold, Danny Green, Chris Connolly, Patti Chong, Dennis Lillee, Dean Cox, Hamish and Andy, Terry Vo and Lord Mayor Dr Peter Nattrass.
The highest three bids of the night were all made for paintings by West Coast Eagles contributors. David Wirrpanda’s masterpiece sold for $5,200; Dean Cox’s painting for $4,100 and John Worsfold’s for $3,800.
Some of the celebrities enlisted the help of a professional artist or mentor to give them a helping hand, while others like Fremantle Dockers CEO Cameron Schwab and Perth Wildcats captain Paul Rogers decided to go it alone. Local artists who donated their time for the event were Christine Hingston, Sally Smith, David Giles, Rob Forlani, Nick Carras, Ash von Castel and Di Taylor.
PMH Foundation CEO Vern Reid said he was amazed at how much artistic talent was displayed by the celebrities, especially considering most of them had never picked up a paintbrush before.
“The standard of the artwork was fantastic and far exceeded what we expected. Bidders got some very original one-off pieces and helped the children at Princess Margaret Hospital at the same time,” he said.
As well as the auction, which was conducted by Perth City Councillor Max Kay, the night also featured entertainment by L.A. Gold and a special appearance by Perth “miracle boy” Terry Vo.
Money raised on the night will help fund an ultrasound machine for the Anaesthesia and Pain Management Department at Princess Margaret Hospital.
Head of Department Dr Neil Chambers said the machine will enable anaesthetists to perform nerve blocks, an emerging technology that is becoming a gold standard technique worldwide.
“The new ultrasound technique decreases the risk of placing a needle into the area by revealing an accurate x-ray type of picture of the nerve and other structures. This decreases the risk of causing damage to other structures as the anaesthetist can see the needle and nerves on the ultrasound machine in a moving picture,” he said.
Children undergoing painful procedures or surgery will benefit most from the new procedure.
Photo: The successful bidder for David Wirrpanda’s painting, Chris Spatcher, shows the painting to eleven-year-old James Thomas who is receiving treatment for a brain tumour at PMH.