Look Up Street Art Festival, Portsmouth UK
On the 9th and 10th of September 2023, I painted a Goldfinch and ladybird mural at Portsmouth’s “Look Up” Street Art Festival. Look Up is Portsmouth’s first ever Street Art Festival and saw nearly 100 artists creating awe-inspiring work showcasing the city as the creative hub it is and creating a destination for art fans.
Portsmouth already has an incredible creative community and the festival gave local artists the opportunity to work alongside and learn from established and leading contemporaries in the street art field.
Look Up festival created by artist My Dog Sighs believes it’s essential to engage with the entire city with the festival so murals were installed throughout the area. The small team had so much support from Arts Council England, Portsmouth City Council and the local community who’ve helped us find walls and supported the festival in making it happen.
During the two-day, free-to-attend event, thousands of residents were joined by thousands of visitors from further afield as they explored the city to discover artworks and watch them take shape. A map showing all artwork locations is available to view and download at: www.lookup-portsmouth.co.uk
Early Bird Catches The … Ladybird?
I painted my Goldfinch and Ladybird design on the walls of Canberra House on Arundel Street. alongside artists, Carl Cashman, 7th Pencil, Roots0121 and Miscfit. The wall was a strange shape so it took me a while to work out a design which would fit the wall and suit the location.
On the first day, I painted in the blaring hot sun, my wall was south facing so there was no shade and no escape from the heat and the suns glare. On the second day, we were blessed with rain which for the first few hours felt like sweet relief from the heat the day before, but by midday, the thunder started. I was lucky to get my piece finished in the nasty weather, many of the other artists postponed painting for the rest of the day.
“The festivities are the brainchild of renowned street artist My Dog Sighs, with his aim being to enliven communities and get them involved in street art.“Having spent the last 10 years painting at Street Art festivals around the world, I wanted to bring some of that excitement to my own city and create a festival that will entertain, inspire and rival some of the best street art destinations in the world.”
A print of the design is available on my webstore HERE
