Burford artist's client list includes Ed Sheeran and royalty

A secretive individual who prefers to be known by his professional name, Teddy M Studio has linked up with Ed Sheeran, the royal family and grafitti pioneer Crash.

Teddy creates contemporary designs from his home near Burford but his reach expands far wider, with Lapo Elkann, the heir to the Fiat car empire, and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger among his famous fans.

Yet millions more have unwittingly seen one of the artist's proudest works in the hands of one of the planet's biggest pop stars.

Ed Sheeran plays Teddy's 'Green T' guitar on stage Picture: Teddy M Studio

Multi-award winning superstar Ed Sheeran has played two of Teddy's art guitars around the world, on his X tour in 2014/15 and the ongoing Divide tour.

The guitars have travelled to New York's Central Park, Wembley Stadium and Glastonbury, and all because of a speculative call to the popstar's manager Stuart Camp.

"I've played the guitar for a number of years but it had been sitting in the corner of my studio," Teddy explains.

"I asked if Ed would like to use one of my guitars, not thinking he would, but apparently he loved it.

"To see it in the hands of the world's biggest pop star was amazing.

"He's played my guitars on two world tours but he and I have never sat in the same room."

They may never have met, but the pop superstar is clearly a fan - after using the 'Green T' guitar on the X tour, Sheeran commissioned a second model.

The 'Crash x Teddy M' Stratocaster might seem bombastic to the uninitiated, but it reflects Teddy's collaboration with Crash, real name John Matos.

Outside of artistic circles Crash's name will draw a blank, but the artist's spray paint designs on trains and buildings in 1980s New York are widely seen as launching the graffiti movement.

The 'Crash x Teddy M' is now part of Sheeran's private collection, which is testament to the quality of Teddy's work.

While the majority of his creations are contemporary paintings, the artist's work with Sheeran shows he is unafraid of asking for bigger projects.

That is how Teddy came to be sitting in Windsor's Royal Lodge in May 2016, with The Duke and Duchess of York and princesses Eugenie.

The artist had driven to Berkshire to meet Scott Lazerson, a friend and 'connector', who was having afternoon tea with the royals.

To Teddy's surprise, he received a call not to pick Scott up, but to join the royal tea party.

He said: "Scott was showing them my artwork and told them I was waiting at the gates.

"They insisted he bring me in.

"When discussing my work, I took a chance and asked if I could collaborate with them for charity and they agreed."

The painting, entitled 'Royal Love', quickly gained media attention and was hailed by GQ and Tatler magazines as 'the first royal graffiti'.

Proceeds raised from the artwork's sale went to global organisation Children in Crisis, with the money helping educate underprivileged young children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But Teddy's status as special guest did not prevent him from getting a clip around the ear.

He explained: "I got told off for wearing sunglasses during the photos with the Royals.

"The Princesses wanted to wear their biker jackets too.

"The Duchess and Princesses didn’t mind my shades at all, but one of their press people commented to me saying it was not the done thing.

"I just laughed, mostly in disbelief and simply told them to chill out and sweat over the important stuff in life."

It is yet another barely believable anecdote from Teddy's crazy life - who knows where his work will take him next.

To see more of Teddy's creations visit teddym.com