Bristol decorator's art lands him job with Snoop Dogg

A painter and decorator has told how he has won praise from some of the biggest stars in the world for his celebrity portraits.

John Donaldson, 40, from Brislington, Bristol, puts his children to bed then draws his heroes at the kitchen table as a way of relaxing.

His art has been celebrated by stars including Stormzy, Slash, Vinnie Jones and Snoop Dogg.

It even led to him creating designs for the US rapper's clothing line.

Mr Donaldson said he still feels "blown away" after being asked via Instagram to work for Snoop Dogg.

"I thought it was a fake account but then I met him and he said I was a star at what I do," he said.

"It's really humbling because he's adored the world over and I've loved his music and followed him all my life."

Although Mr Donaldson took an art GNVQ at sixth form and has always loved drawing, he did not think he could pursue art as a career and became a self-employed painter and decorator.

"At the start I just thought I wasn't going to earn any money and I just wanted to get a job, like everyone else."

His sister Sarah pushed him to set up social media accounts to show off his art which he does "every night, sometimes for hours on end".

He now has more than 45,000 followers on Instagram and his dream is to become a full-time artist.

After getting "lots of great comments" online he entered a competition to design for Snoop Dogg but "came nowhere".

Then a couple of months later he was sent a message asking if he would like to design merchandise for an upcoming tour.

"I said if you can get him to verify this then yes of course I will and Snoop started following my Instagram and it went from there," said Mr Donaldson.

He said he was given the "push" to continue his art after Snoop Dogg's reaction to his work.

"I thought if he can recognise my work and see that then that is really good. It gave me a push to keep going with it."

He worked for the singer between 2015 and 2017 and got to meet his musical hero when the tour came to Southampton.

Mr Donaldson has since used his skills to help his son Jack meet his World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) hero Bobby Lashley.

"I took him to Cardiff when Lashley was on tour and arranged to meet him to hand over a painting I'd done."

Mr Lashley took the pair into the centre of the ring and it "totally blew Jack's mind", Mr Donaldson said.