Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan brings art show to Bristol

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan OBE hopes to better his record when he brings a series of his abstract artwork to Bristol this month.

Vaughan, who led his team to a famous Ashes victory in 2005, has turned his considerable talents to abstract art, creating pieces using just his bat and a paint-covered ball.

Vaughan creates the works with a technique he has termed 'artballing', where he skilfully uses cover drives, square cuts and pull shots to pepper the blank canvas at over 100mph.

Originals and prints of his work – which are all signed by Vaughan – will be up for sale at Castle Galleries Bristol, at Cribbs Causeway between November 28 and December 30.

The 35-year-old told the Evening Post he didn't have a great record at the County ground when he visited Bristol with Yorkshire over the years and hopes his artwork fares better.

"I fully admit that I have never had a great record playing at Bristol but it's a very good city – I especially like Clifton.

"I got this idea for this from Martina (Navratilova) who had created canvases by hitting tennis balls against them and I thought why not cricket balls?

"I have always enjoyed art. I have never been that good with a pencil and paintbrush, but this way of creating art was something that captured my imagination.

"You have to be accurate with shots but that's the easiest part.

"It's like any piece of art, sometimes one can be created in an hour and I'll really like it, while another can take longer and just get binned because it's not right.

"It's all about how you get the ball hitting the canvas. I hope when people see them up close they will be impressed by the colour and care that has gone into producing them."

Since starting the venture, which is said to have been a therapeutic tonic to his emotional retirement from international cricket, Vaughan's work has been billed as "Damien Hirst meets Jackson Pollock".

Michael Vaughan's artballing collection will be in Castle Galleries from the end of November, while stocks last. Prices start from under £300.

Added to this, anybody purchasing a limited-edition print or artballing original (between Saturday 28 November and December 20) will be automatically entered into a prize draw to win an artballing session with Michael Vaughan.

For more information, call 0117 959 4647.