A striking new piece of street art honouring Guide Dogs has been completed and unveiled in New Brighton.
Coinciding with International Dog Day, the mural which is painted by internationally-renowned urban artist Aches features a German Shepherd, Golden Retriever and a Labrador.
Located on Virginia Road within the town’s Victoria Quarter, the almost three-dimensional mural is typical of Dublin-based Ache’s style, who uses a layered colour separation technique in his work.
The mural is dedicated to Guide Dogs, a national charity which was founded in New Brighton in 1931 by Rosamund Bond and Muriel Crooke. 90 years on and they continue their work today by giving people with sight loss the confidence to get out and about safely and are world leaders in puppy socialisation: breeding and training more dogs than any other organisation in the world.
The piece which was commissioned and funded by New Brighton Street Art is part of the company’s ‘Unsung Heroes’ project which highlights individuals or groups who play a vital role in the community but who may not be in the public eye or get the recognition they deserve.
A previous commission by the company which also operates New Brighton Street Art Tour saw a hyper-realistic portrait painted in 2020 of local lifeboat crew member Mike Jones, marking his 40-year anniversary with the New Brighton station and is also situated on Virginia Road.
Speaking about the latest work, entitled “Guide Dogs” artist Aches commented:
“It was a pleasure to come to New Brighton to paint, I’ve been aware of what the guys are doing here and was keen to get involved. The town’s street art scene has a fantastic reputation and it’s great to be involved, joining other leading artists in their open air gallery.”
“The subject matter was specially chosen as New Brighton was the birthplace of the Guide Dogs organisation, and I wanted to tie in with celebrating International Dog Day.It’s a subject close to my heart and also of the wall’s owners, who are massive dog lovers and have a lovely rescue dog themselves named Boo.I hope that the work helps to raise awareness for the Guide Dogs charity and I look forward to returning to New Brighton to paint again soon.”
Aches’s artwork is due to be fitted with an aluminium plaque which will include details of the artwork and the artist as well as information on how to make a donation to the charity.
For more information on this work and also New Brighton Street Art Tour, a collection of more than thirty large-scale artworks which are all free to view 365 days a year, please visit www.newbrightonstreetart.com where you can download a tour map, watch exclusive artist interviews and sign-up for free newsletters.
