Sunderland artist’s scramble to create ‘Swiftie Stairs’ mural

A spray paint artist has told of his scramble to create a giant mural of megastar Taylor Swift.

Frank Styles, from Sunderland, was tasked to create an 8ft (2.4m) portrait of the US singer-songwriter on the Spanish Steps at Wembley, ahead of her Eras tour stop-off in London.

The mural, on the renamed “Swiftie Steps”, has attracted large numbers of fans keen to pose for a selfie, and was unveiled by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

“When I was a kid any spray painting was bad and now I’m standing next to the mayor of London for a spray painting,” Mr Styles said at its unveiling.

It was initially created in a garage in Monkwearmouth, before the work was imaged and printed onto panels of vinyl so they could be stuck down on the steps, which connect Wembley Stadium with Wembley Arena.

Mr Styles said he was only given a few weeks to design the work and struggled to find a wall big enough to paint it.

He put a shout-out on Facebook on 31 May looking for a wall at least 10ft (3m) high and 6ft (1.8m) wide, and a local garage on Wearside came to his rescue.

The artist said the main challenge was ensuring the perspective of the portrait would remain accurate when copied onto the steps.

“They [the printers] just couldn’t get their head wrapped around the fact that the forehead is really big because it’s further away,” he said.

Alongside the multi-coloured portrait of Swift, Mr Styles also painted some of the singer’s well-known Easter eggs on the staircase – which she uses in her content to hide messages and teasers for her millions of fans.

He admitted he was not a fan of the US star himself, but said his daughter was a big supporter and she, alongside her friends, helped him figure out which eggs to include.

He said he also wanted to highlight the medium of spray paint in the work.

Mr Styles, whose murals can be seen on several buildings around Sunderland, said he had a wonderful time interacting with Swifties at the unveiling of the work on Wednesday.

“They were just canny,” he added.