Sheffield-lovers and locals may well know the name Tom J Newell – his iconic style, Posca pen-prowess and love of music is a staple of the city, and his work can be found throughout the region and beyond.

Most recently, Tom joined the Pride of Yorkshire trail as the launch artist for the project; creating two vibrant designs for the first lion and lioness sculptures.

“I’ve been honoured to be involved in all of the sculpture trails run by Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity and created designs for both the Herd of Sheffield in 2016 and the Bears of Sheffield in 2021.”, said Tom: “I was contacted about being the launch artist for this new, massive sculpture trail which was even more of an honour!”

Named Dandy Lion and Dandy Lioness, Tom’s designs were unveiled at the launch event at Yorkshire Wildlife Park last month. These bright, bold and brilliant sculptures caught the attention and captured the hearts of guests at the event, with everyone eager to get a social media snap with them.

On creating this dynamic duo, Tom said: “My past designs have been monochrome, and I wanted to approach these in the total opposite style and fill them with colour. I took inspiration from the colour palette used by Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, and out came this very bold design.”

Taking a month to paint, Tom’s Pride of Yorkshire designs see him incorporating text for the first time: “The bodies of both feature the title of the trail, and “Shout About Sheffield” – which is a phrase I heard James O’Hara [co-founder of Tramlines, Day Fever and Crossed Wires, and owner of many of Sheffield’s iconic spots] use when he was discussing how creative people in Sheffield are likely to downplay the amazing work that they’re doing.

“It just felt right that it should feature prominently on my designs as this campaign represents so much great stuff that we should be shouting about!”

Dandy Lion and Dandy Lioness are two of 150 large lion and lioness sculptures that will be on display across South Yorkshire in Summer 2026. Each will be designed by an artist and sponsored by a business, and you can discover more about sponsoring one of these unique works of art here.

Tom’s Sculpture Trail History

In 2016, Tom took his talents to 3D by designing an elephant for the Herd of Sheffield. His design, The Beat Goes On, was displayed at Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre during the trail, and can now be found watching over pub-goers on the roof of The Foresters (formerly The Great Gatsby) on Division Street.

Then in 2021, Tom returned to the trail with his Bears of Sheffield design, Quasar One. Following in the footsteps of his Elephant predecessor, Quasar One featured an all-over black and white print, and was inspired by 1960s psychedelic band Rameses & Selket – who lived and worked in Sheffield during the peak of their career. The bear was located in St Paul’s Place and can now be found at Bear Tree Records in The Forum.

The Many Dimensions of Art

While Tom may now be no stranger to painting on 3D, he said the Pride of Yorkshire lion sculptures still gave him plenty of puzzles to solve, with the mane being a particular hurdle for him overcome: “The trickiest part of creating these designs was the mane of the male lion, it has hundreds of different angles, and I was constantly having to adjust positions. It took me around four days to paint and it was a real test of patience!”

Tom concluded: “I can’t wait to see what other artists get involved this time and what they do with their designs… I’m especially excited and relieved that mine is now done and that I’m in the comfortable position of being able to relax!”

You can find out more about Tom J Newell and his work by following him on Instagram and heading over to his website.

Call for Artists!

Feeling inspired to put paint to sculpture? We’re still looking for Artists to design and paint these spectacular sculptures! The deadline to submit your design is Friday 25 July 2025 and you can register your interest using the form here.

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Pride of Yorkshire will run from June 2026 – September 2026 across South Yorkshire. Watch this space for more information, how to get involved and support and for artists announcements on our website.

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