Tony Mills

What can I say, other than a huge thank you. #8milesaway #homelessness #ArtistOnTwitter

8 original works of art 8 homeless people in Brighton £26,000 raised through sales of the artwork £3000+ to 8 individuals without homes, to help kick start their future.  #brighton #homelessness #8milesaway #ArtistOnTwitter

"Ad astra per aspera" 'Through adversity to the stars'. Achieving great things in spite of hardship. A fitting motto for #8milesaway? This has been about hard times, unchosen paths, the hand that life deals unexpectedly & now, hopefully, some light after the dark. #homeless

I will soon reveal the total amount that #8milesaway has raised for some young homeless people in the city @SancSL This project has burned like flames within me for some time now. I can only hope it will ignite sparks for the very people it is designed to help. #homelessness

Asking me if there is a favourite painting from #8milesaway is like asking someone to rank their best kisses in their life.  But that’s a politicians answer. There are things I love about each one truthfully. #ArtistOnTwitter

Bids for the original #8milesaway paintings close at midnight tonight.@SancSL

This is the location for The Kiss. The landscape was painted first as I knew it was a location where my first homeless man had stopped when he fled Brighton. (Apologies for this picture looking like a 1980’s Album cover. It was freezing. New found respect for Kate Moss) #brighton

This is The Point. The painting was a comment on busyness, distraction and things that take on a huge importance in the moment. #8milesaway #ArtistOnTwitter #homelessness #brighton

Going live in 10 mins or so on bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/li…

This is the location for The Turning Point. Truthfully it was the only location that wasn’t a familiar place for homeless people, but that struck me as incidental to the point about contrasts, in this city that I love. #artistsontwitter #homelessnessawareness #Brighton

This was the location for the last painting in the series called ‘The Power & The Glory’. It’s exposed and raw but the homeless person I met there was super friendly and intelligently told me all about his life. #artistsontwitter #homeless #brighton #8milesaway

This is the site for the painting ‘ The Light That Never Goes Out’ after the song by The Smiths. The juxtaposition of the homeless person and such an iconic hotel is obvious. #artistsontwitter #8milesaway #homeless #brighton

Looking forward to more chatting @BBCSussex on Saturday.

@NancyDurrant @WillGompertzBBC

@tildeni @ThirdSector

@BrightonJournal @brightonargus @BrightonHoveCC @artnet @artnews

But now is the time. This week, these days. I don't feel comfortable with the sales pitch feeling, but then I wouldn't feel comfortable sleeping rough on a bench on the seafront, so time for a final push. Thank you, everyone. #tonymillsartist #homelessness #brighton #nohome

Thinking about this year and lockdown & all the more time we've spent in our homes, I invite you to consider how that might have been different, had you not had a home. Any small effort you make to share my project and help raise as much as I can, is hugely valued & appreciated.

I feel both proud and humbled to have poured myself into this. It has helped heal parts of me and opened up new bits too. Homeless is a heart breaking thing. Most of us see our homes at the heart of our lives. A place of safety and refuge.

And so, the end is near,and now we face the final curtain... This is it. It is the last few days of bidding for the 8 Miles Away artwork. The money raised will change people's lives. I don't say that lightly #tonymillsartist #homelessness #brighton #nohome #homeless #crisis