Artist spends 130 hours creating hand painted sneakers for Elton John

By Douglas Whitbread via SWNS

A talented artist revealed how he spent 130 hours creating an incredible customized pair of trainers as a surprise gift - for Sir Elton John.

The "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" singer was left "speechless" by Karl Chester's creation.

Karl, 32, was approached by Sir Elton's company to create the stunning collage on a pair of Adidas Stan Smiths to commemorate his long career in the music industry.

Karl, who charges up to £5,000 for some of his custom shoes, said: “His team said he was speechless.

"That was a spine-chilling moment. I’m always looking into celebrities because they are a bit more of a challenge to please.

“You can imagine being someone who has performed for 200,000 people - with the adrenaline and the endorphins you feel - your bar for what you think is good is going to be a lot higher than the average person because of the life you lead.

"So to hear that he was speechless was amazing.”

Karl was first contacted by Luke Lloyd-Davies, the chairman of Elton John’s company, Rocket Entertainment Group, in September 2022.

He received a message via Instagram after Ed Sheeran retweeted pictures of trainers he designed for a bride to wear on her wedding day.

He said Sir Elton's staff asked him to create two pairs of shoes for the star and his husband David Furnish following the end of his final farewell tour.

Karl delved into Sir Elton's autobiography, 'Me', and created a “shrine” to him in his studio to get inspiration for the trainers, which took two months to complete.

Karl admitted he was a long-time admirer of Sir Elton, adding that ‘I’m Still Standing’, from his 1983 album Too Low for Zero, was one of his favorite songs.

And he said the designs for his shoe were an attempt to capture the star’s life as one of Britain’s most loved musicians.

The trainers feature a portrait of Elton as a boy learning the piano - alongside the singer in his glittering baseball costume from his Dodger Stadium concert in 1975.

They also carry an illustration from the cover of his 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' album and a painting of him in a pair of his famous orange-tinted glasses.

The pair of trainers he created for David Furnish, 61, features a touching work of art by Damien Hirst, which was present at their wedding in 2014.

He said of Elton John's shoes: “It’s different eras. From his first time touching the piano to his last performance.

“It took me a couple of months from when I was ready to start them.

"But that also included two months of research into Elton John - reading his book and getting a feel for him as a person.

“I plastered a load of pictures on my wall and made a little shrine. You’d think I was just some obsessed fan if you didn’t know I was painting him."

Karl, who runs his own business, Starline Customs, in Warrington, Cheshire, struggled at first to believe the inquiry was genuine.

But after receiving some assurances, he quickly agreed to take on the project.

He added: “Luke Lloyd-Davies basically just let me run with it, free reign. He gave me full creative freedom to do whatever I wanted."