Security officer Andrew brushes up cancer unit at Calderdale Royal Hospital

Andrew Hardie’s eye-catching painting has been placed behind the reception desk at the Macmillan unit.

Another of his paintings is housed in the obstetrics and gynecology department at the hospital, and another is at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

Andrew, 60, who lives in Illingworth, said: “I’ve just picked up painting again recently and got back into it in the last couple of months.

“I went to work at Huddersfield and there was a room where relatives would be told a member of their family had dementia.

“The symbol of dementia is a butterfly, so I did a picture of a butterfly and a flower in focus, with everything else out of focus, to try and represent what dementia is.

“In the Macmillan ward, it’s very staid. I thought ‘I can do a better job than the pictures in there’.

“I just thought life still goes on for the people on the ward, so I suppose it reflects that.

“There’s the Halifax aspect to it as well. Ed Sheeran’s from Halifax and he’s closely associated with the town.

“I’ve done one before of John Lennon. I’ve just been giving them out to whoever wants them. I like seeing the look on someone’s face when they receive it.”

Other paintings of Andrew’s include a Star Wars stormtrooper and his version of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, with Wainhouse Tower.

“With art, it’s what you want to settle with,” Andrew added. “So you start off with an idea, but it can take a different direction of you don’t like the colour or the angle.

“With a big print like the Ed Sheeran one, which is three-and-a-half foot by three foot, it takes a solid week, working on it from 8am to 8pm.

“But I’m pleased with how people have taken an interest in it.”