The artist behind the latest piece of work to pop up around town wants to show off the best of what Croydon has to offer.

Alec Saunders, AKA Colourblind, said his eye-popping Stormzy portrait was meant to shed a different light on Croydon.

"He's (Stormzy) always been real and spoke the truth with energy," Mr Saunders said.

"I wanted a positive figure portrayed in our fair city to show that Croydon isn't just stabbings and where Ikea is.

"Watching his rise over the past several years makes me proud to come from where he does."

A teacher of art at the Minster Junior School, Mr Saunders said a recent encounter while designing the piece showed exactly why his work was important.

"At 2 o'clock in the morning an old Jamaican bus driver asked me 'why you doing all the black faces'," the artist said.

"My response to him was 'I don't see a black face, I just see a talented young musician from Croydon."

As for the design itself, well Mr Saunders alongside Danny Hedges just wanted to bring some energy to the Park Street portrait.

"The gold is almost biblical to show he’s like a shining light and positive influence on our city," Mr Saunders said.

"He usually wears a tracksuit but I had him wearing a suit to show that just because we are portrayed and seen as a somewhat unfashionable city we can pull it off if need be.

"I wanted him facing towards the town centre to almost watch over us."

It won't be the last you see of the artists either.

Come the start of August he will be displaying a collection of his work at an exhibition in Matthews Yard.