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Gillingham artist Jon Rayfield leaves artwork around the Medway Towns for people to enjoy

By: Lizzie Massey

Published: 00:01, 31 May 2015

Think Banksy, but portable, with a bit of Santa Claus thrown in there too. Confused?

Well, a builder with artistic flair is leaving little gifts around the Medway Towns for people to find and appreciate.

Like Banksy, Jon Rayfield’s works are sometimes political. With his studio flat in Skinner Street, Gillingham, now piled to the rafters with paintings and every nook and cranny taken up with art supplies he decided to share his work with everyone – and his surrealist paintings can even be picked up and taken home too.

Artist Jon Rayfield with some of his work

The 29-year-old took a BTEC in fine art in Canterbury. After finishing and not being able to get work as an artist he swapped paint brushes for saws and drills.

But he still paints at home and would welcome any business from his latest idea.

"This idea shakes up the status quo a bit. People often ignore what’s right in front of them..." - Jon Rayfield

The father-of-two said: “The problem with the art world is that it’s really pretentious.

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"Unless you already have a lot of money to spend promoting your work, it’s very hard to become known.

“I did a few exhibitions locally but they all ended up costing me a lot more money than I made.

“This idea shakes up the status quo a bit. People often ignore what’s right in front of them.

“Doing something quirky like this with people looking for the art or just seeing it out of the corner of their eye is quite exciting. It may make people take more interest in art, and the area itself.

“It’s like at Christmas when you give somebody a gift and you see them happy. It’s just nice to give something back and put a smile on people’s faces.

Jon Rayfield leaves artwork around the Towns for people to take

For the next week Mr Rayfield will be carefully placing his artwork all across the Towns, with his signature JAR.

He started off small, with a few little pieces planted in evidence bags that he bought online, but there are some much larger pieces to come.

“I’d rather they be seen and enjoyed by people than getting dusty at home. If somebody likes what they see and wants it for their walls, then I’m glad,” he added.

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