Portsmouth street artist My Dog Sighs creates new mural after empty shop targeted by vandals

Portsmouth street artist My Dog Sighs agreed to paint the corner of the former Lait’s Bakery building at the junction of Fawcett Road and Darlington Road after being approached to help cover up graffiti.

He was contacted by Southsea resident Joshua Allen, the Labour Party candidate for Southsea Central in May’s election, who has now lined up similar projects elsewhere in the area.

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‘As a resident, I’m active in trying to improve the area, making it more environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing,’ he said. ‘I often walk down Fawcett Road and noticed the property on the corner of Darlington Road had been targeted by someone and they frequently put horrible tags on the wall, at the frustration of the owner.’

Mr Allen knew My Dog Sighs due to the pair having previously discussed plans for a larger mural that are still in the pipeline. His Southsea piece was painted last week. It says ‘This life has been insane…’ on one side of the corner with ‘…but today has been ok’ on the other.

‘There’s been a problem with tagging across the city, so I decided to take it into my own hands and approached the owner,’ he added. ‘They gave me permission to use the corner and I approached My Dog Sighs to see if he wanted to use it and if he needed any support. He wanted to use it and on his return to Southsea he created an amazing piece of art.

‘My aim is to continue making Portsmouth the beautiful and vibrant city it is.’

He is now in contact with ‘several’ artists and building owners about the potential for future murals to be painted. This includes a planned project in Francis Avenue with designs now being drawn up. He said a fundraising campaign would soon be launched in a bid to cover the cost of putting it up.

To find out more about the project, people can go to My Dog Sighs’ social media pages.