REDHILL'S answer to Banksy has struck again – and this time the front of a house is his canvas.
Artist Uncle Stubble, whose colourful work adorns a number of walls in the town, has painted a version of The Brilliance by Tamara De Lempicka across the front wall of a Redhill home.
Now the guerilla painter is challenging residents to track down his latest masterpiece.
"It is somewhere in the town and people have to look for it," he said.
The 42-year-old, who paints with spray cans, completed the work by standing on a ladder. Before starting he mapped it out on a piece of paper using a grid, which he then transferred onto the house.
Alisdair Semple, pastor at the Christ Central church, saw Uncle Stubble at work.
He said: "I watched him putting up the grid. The work is an attractive addition and he is a very talented artist."
The scale of the artwork – which adorns a two-storey house – did pose its challenges for Uncle Stubble, whose real name is Tim Stiling.
"It is a bit daunting," he said. "I didn't put scaffolding up so I could only carry one paint can at a time, along with a bit of paper with the original on to copy. It is difficult keeping track when it is just one foot in front of your face."
But as he created the work, which took all day Saturday, Uncle Stubble had plenty of support with passers-by shouting compliments as the work took shape.
"I was worried people would be upset," he told the Mirror. "But no one has said anything yet."
Having been a fan of spray painting as a youngster, the Redhill resident was dissuaded from the art form when he got in trouble with his elders.
Then, after picking up a spray can a couple of years ago, he was inspired to don the persona of Uncle Stubble, which had been a nickname for many years.
But while other graffiti artists – such as the famous Banksy – keep their identities shrouded in mystery, Uncle Stubble says he has no need for a mask.
"I don't plan on doing anything illegal," he said.
"I have been lucky. People are happy for me to paint in some places, I don't have to do it secretly."
