Watch: Artist Daisy Barker talks through her bold and colourful Pride of Portsmouth lion Cushty
Portsmouth artist talks through her inspiration for Portsmouth100 lion design
A Portsmouth artist has talked through the “amazing” experience of creating the design for a lion in the Pride of Portsmouth Trail.
The flagship Portsmouth100 event begins on Monday, July 13 with 45 lions dotted around the city for people to find. Each lion has been uniquely designed by individual artists covering different themes that give a nod to the city’s culture and heritage.
Daisy Barker, created the lion Cushty which will be placed at Hilsea Bus Station and is sponsored by First Bus.
She said: “I wanted it to be a bold, colourful, pop art love letter to Pompey. I have included Portsmouth slang with ‘dinlo’ written on it while there are nods to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. I wanted something bright and engaging, something that you could look at for hours and still find new bits.”
While the process was tricky at times, it was project that she was proud to be a part of.
Daisy said: “It was amazing. I think it is really rare for a city to be behind local artists and doing things that empower them and bring them up to the forefront. I think it is brilliant.”
The Pride of Portsmouth Lion Trail runs until September 13.
Find the full interview with Daisy in the video embedded in this article.