Artist REQ transforms Hastings building with stunning mural

The colourful painting, which covers the entire side of a building, is of a woman in the sea and was created by Brighton artist REQ.

He said: “I’ve gone for what I think of as an uplifting mural.

“Queens Road needed a bit of love and I wanted to paint something to cheer it up and give it a bit of ‘muse-y bliss’, as I like to call it.”

The design was from his own collection called the Aquatic Smudge Series. It focuses on a woman in the sea – REQ’s muse who he calls Smudge – and water.

He added: “I feel really happy when I paint my muse and when I paint with a good feeling, the good feeling will come out. And people have just absolutely loved it, so it’s done its job.”

The mural took four days and more than 25 cans of paint to complete.

REQ, 52, continued: “I did the face in a day and a half. I did it the first day and it wasn’t quite right and I came back the second day and fixed it. But it’s pretty hard up the cherry picker when it’s swaying about and you’ve got to get in just the right position. I’m really pleased with her face though and it definitely looks like her.”

REQ will be selling limited edition prints of the mural, which he has named Aquatic Smudge. They can be bought from St Leonards’ new art galley Stella Dore which opens on Norman Road this week.

He is now using the remaining paint for another water design in Harold Place, also for Coastal Currents, and says he would love to return for next year’s event to paint more murals.

The festival is an annual celebration of arts and culture across 1066 Country and is running throughout September.

To find out about more about the event visit http://coastalcurrents.org.uk.