«totally blown away», or, in good Portuguese, with open mouth. That's how Lewis Hamilton was when he saw a giant portrait of himself, painted by the Algarve artist HUARUI on a “screen” of 100 x 60 meters, a football field of 11 existing in a private plot of Portimão, as the British pilot confessed on the social network Instagram.
The Formula 1 world champion in title and winner of the Grand Prix of Portugal, played this weekend in Portimão, very close to the place where the painting was done – which earned him the record for total victories in races in Portugal. F1 -, this Monday shared a video of making of of the artwork made by the young street artist from Lagos and confessed to being pleasantly impressed.
«I'm totally blown away by this. Thank you so much @huariu 🙌🏾», wrote Lewis Hamilton, as the caption of his publication.
And it's no reason for less. After all, we are talking about a gigantic work of art, which can only be fully enjoyed in the air.
To create it, it took "a thousand liters of plastic paint" and a lot of work, since the portrait was "rolled in a roller" on a lawn in Mexilhoeira Grande, in eight days - and with a day and a half of heavy rain in between -, he said HUARIU to Sul Informação.
«It was a challenge from some old customers. They love Formula 1 and, being British, they are fans of Lewis Hamilton. Initially, their intention was for me to write “Go Lewis” on the football field. But I thought right away: it would be cool to do something more artistic. I made two drawings, they liked it and, after two days, they accepted», revealed the artist from Lagoa.
This client is the owner of the land where the portrait was painted, which offered the physical space and paints for the young man street artist Algarvian could give free rein to his imagination.
Thus, on the 17th, a week and a day before the Portugal GP, HUARIU went to the field.
«On the first day, I made the appointments and a kind of grid that I use. I really started painting on the 18th. There was still a day and a half when I couldn't work because it rained. Fortunately, it didn't spoil anything», he told the Sul Informação.
«I started painting and immediately realized that it wouldn't work (laughs). I had to change the design. I was even thinking about giving up, but I managed to find a solution there», he confessed.
As you can see, the task was not easy, especially with the approach of the Grand Prix of Portugal. And it was even necessary to find extra arms to carry the task to fruition.
“My girlfriend had to come with me every day to help me. Now, towards the end, I managed to get two friends to help me out. It made all the difference, otherwise it would have been impossible to finish it», said HUARIU.
The artwork was completed on Saturday, “but on Sunday morning I still had to correct a thing or two. It was just in time for Hamilton's victory».
Despite having works of art in public spaces in several countries and, of course, in your homeland – a mural on the facade of the Support Center for the Elderly of Ferragudo, for example - this will be the painting by the artist from Lagos that promises to reach a wider audience.
The day after its publication by Lewis Hamilton, the video, where detailed images of HUARIU at work are shown and an aerial plan of the land, with the work completed, already had more than 790 thousand views.
The young Lagoon, 28 years old, son of a Portuguese mother and an English father, started in graffiti, very young, just «9 years old». After some time, he lost interest, but he started painting again «when he was 21».
From here, HUARIU began to develop a technique «of spray painting, but based on lines and lines», which produce the effect that can be seen in Hamilton's portrait, in Mexilhoeira Grande, and which characterize his works.
Images of the artist's work can be seen in the Instagram and Facebook, but also in official website of HUARIU.
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