Artist uses eyelash to paint Peaky Blinders microsculpture

An artist famed for his microscopic sculptures has created a miniature work of Tommy Shelby, from Peaky Blinders.

Dr Willard Wigan, who previously held the world record for creating the smallest handmade sculpture, spent four painstaking weeks and used his eyelash as a paintbrush to complete the artwork, which shows the character riding a horse.

"I did it for the people of the West Midlands to see. I like the way the Peaky Blinders dress and the mystery of it all," the 68-year-old from Wolverhampton told the BBC.

It is on display along with 19 other microsculptures at Halesowen's Cornbow Centre, with all proceeds going to a dog rescue charity.

The artist said the exhibition had come about after a chance meeting with an old friend, Lucy Antill, who together with her sister founded Monarch's Mutts Dog Rescue in Halesowen.

He said: "Ever since I was a kid, I've always been fond of animals and unfortunately some animals are treated badly."

Microsculptures on display in the exhibition include artwork in the eye of a needle, on a pin head and one inside a single human hair - all so small they are only seen through microscopes.

The sculptor, who grew up in the Wednesfield area, told BBC Radio WM: "I've trained my nervous system, I can work between my heartbeats, I have 1.5 seconds to move between the beats, I can slow my heart down.

"As soon as my pulse stops, I learned to sculpt between the beats. It's something that I just evolved into doing and I use my eyelash as a paintbrush.

"The smallest one I did was Shakespeare inside a hair. I couldn't paint it with an eyelash, so I had to paint it with a piece of dust."

Diagnosed as autistic aged 50, the artist said reading and writing did not come naturally to him but his challenges had led to him discovering his hidden talent.

The 68-year-old, who was made an MBE in 2007 for services to art, added: "Your body tries to compensate itself by creating things, and that's what happened to me.

"I started just creating. I was good with my hands. I could look at someone for one second and I could go away and carve their face on a toothpick."

Lucy Antill, from the dog rescue charity, told the BBC: "The funds could mean we're finally able to get a suitable vehicle to transport dogs around the country.

"Our vet bills are anywhere between £3,000 to £5,000 a month. Those are ongoing costs for us and ultimately it would be incredible if we could buy land and kennels to create a dog sanctuary."

The Through the Microscope and In the Eye of a Needle exhibition started on Saturday and will be running for four weeks.

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