The winner of the artrepublic street art competition is Brighton based artist Grant DeJonge (Attached is the winning image entitled ‘Lost’, plus winner Grant Dejonge with wife Jacquie and street artist Inkie)

Preparations have begun to transform a 2 storey-wall into an original work of art.  The wall kindly donated by myhotels has been prepped, and the winning image will serve as a reminder of the UK homeless situation when it is unveiled on Brighton’s Jubilee Street on Friday 5th February.

The next location is in Covent Garden, London where the image will be painstakingly reproduced onto a 4-storey building.

The image will be sold as a limited edition print through the artrepublic galleries in Brighton and London and online at www.artrepublic.com

Lawrence Alkin, CEO artrepublic, has agreed to donate £1 from every single transaction taken during the months of Jan, Feb & March 2010 to StreetSmart.  To date artrepublic have donated £1,500 to the charity.

Glen Pougnet, Director StreetSmart comments: “I think that the shortlist was truly magnificent but the winning piece is really powerful work. Congratulations to the artist and very many thanks to artrepublic.  Every single penny donated will be used to fund vital projects to help the homeless in both London and Brighton.”

DeJonge is a self-taught artist from London, but for the past 14 years has lived and worked around Brighton.  He is ecstatic about winning the competition:  “I had just finished a building job so had no more work on, when I heard about the artrepublic Street Art competition. Whilst creating the image using oils on canvas, it made me realise that I want to concentrate on my art again.  Never for a minute did I think about winning, especially as my work is not strictly ‘street’.”  Dejonge was unaware that established street art judges – Inkie, Eine, Static and Pure Evil were unanimous in choosing his  image due to its originality, use of colour and for the fact it conveyed the right, thought-provoking message.  DeJonge concludes “I wanted to include subtle details to my piece such as having no shadow under the bench and the use of a vivid “fairy tale” red for her coat.  I am delighted to win this competition and look forward to working with artrepublic.  I hope my image serves as a reminder of the homeless situation and that it helps to highlight the excellent work that charities like StreetSmart are doing .”

The image will be available to view in Brighton and London from February until end of March 2010.

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