A Swanage artist will be welcoming customers back to his studio next week in his signature painted pith helmet and boiler suit.

Artist Andy Knill is a father of two and lives in the coastal town.

He is known around the resort for his boiler suit and pith helmet combinations, which he designs himself.

His key belief is that art is for fun.

Andy’s art installation work involves using marker pens to draw straight onto the clothing – much to the delight of passing children and the horror of their parents!

He was discouraged from pursuing art at school at 13 and took it up years later as a way to combat depression.

The 56-year-old is passionate about encouraging everyone to take up art just for fun and is hoping to bring back his popular ‘Give it a go’ art table in his shop this summer.

His gallery can be found at The Courtyard Studio, Tilly Mead, Commercial Rd, Swanage.

It opened in November 2019 but had to close shortly after opening due to Covid-19 in March 2020.

Now Andy can’t wait to reopen the gallery – with social distancing measures in place – from Monday, April 12.

He said: “What a year.

“We opened just before Christmas 2019 and little did we know what was ahead.

“Although I’ve been keeping busy with commissions and projects, I miss seeing people and getting them excited about art and seeing that spark of creativity shine through.

“Art has been so important for people during lockdown.

“It’s definitely helped me get through the year in a positive way, so I’m looking forward to hearing about how everyone’s art projects are coming on.”

Andy’s bold, colourful marker pen designs have become a hit with art fans.

His favourite subject is the Dorset landscape and coastline.

Andy’s designs include Swanage beach huts, Swyre Head, the RNLI on a mission out of their Swanage base and Father Christmas and his reindeer flying through Durdle Door.

Links to Andy’s online shop, website, and social media can be found via here.