Artist who only draws while asleep hopes to raise £500,000 for charity by selling his entire collection

An artist who can only draw when he is asleep has  announced plans to raise £500,000 for charity by selling his entire collection of work. Lee Hadwin, 37, places pads of paper around his flat for the bizarre talent which he picked up at the age of four. He has drawn numerous portraits of screen siren Marilyn Monroe but most of his artwork is of circle-inspired abstract pieces. He said: “It can happen two-to-three times a week that I get out of bed and draw in my sleep.



“But then then it might be another two weeks before I do it again. I sometimes go away and come back to finish a piece off. When I wake up, I know I have done something but I don’t know what.” Now Lee, who has baffled scientists with his nocturnal drawing, has decided to sell off his entire collection on eBay and donate half of to the Missing Person charity. Lee, a self-described “rubbish” artist when he is awake, has sold sleep pieces for six-figure sums in the past. The kind-hearted Welshman, who lives in London is hoping to make £1 million from the sale with £500,000 going to charity.



Lee, who wakes up with horrendous migraines after a night’s drawing and is often sick as a result, says it has been a nightmare proving he’s not a hoaxer. Over the years he has been for inconclusive tests at the Edinburgh Sleep Clinic with experts going back over his school work to see if he is lying. Lee will put between 80 and 100 pieces on eBay on February 11, added: “My art is horrific when I’m conscious. I have only sold a few drawings over the years and have held off selling a lot because I’ve been told to hold onto them because they will increase in value. But now I have just decided to sell them all for charity.”


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Lee has chosen the charity after meeting a woman who was looking after her sister’s two young daughters after she had gone missing for six months. Ross Miller from the charity Missing People, said: “Lee is a passionate supporter of the charity and we’re very grateful for his ongoing dedication, generosity and help so we can be a lifeline for families of missing people. Lee never does things by half and his latest gesture is another sign of his serious commitment to philanthropy and to doing it with gusto. On behalf of families currently facing the trauma of having a loved one missing, thank you for not forgetting us Lee.”