A New Zealand artist has paid tribute to Prince, painting a beautiful mural of the musician on a Sydney building.
Graham Hoete, 34, said the portrait of the American musician, who died last week, was a tribute to Prince's "creative genius".
"[He was an] all-time legend who was a major influence throughout my childhood and life," Hoete said
The former Tauranga Boys' College pupil, whose artist name is Mr G, painted the mural - a black and white portrait on a purple background - entitled Purple Rain yesterday.
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Advertise with NZME.In the painting, Prince has his eyes closed, and drops of rain fall across the foreground of the work.
"I've been a Prince fan since I was a kid. My brother had all his albums on vinyl, I remember the art."
The full-time Sydney-based artist said when he heard of Prince's death, he wanted to use his own skills to pay tribute.
"I put a call out on social media asking for a large blank wall and four people came back to me."
He chose the wall at 1 Speed St, in Sydney's Liverpool area, which was donated by The Street University - an organisation that works with youths - and spray painted the mural in about six hours.
Overnight, Prince fans visited the mural and left flowers, and while Hoete was painting, he had visits from fans, showing support and encouragement.
Hoete recently painted a portrait of All Black Liam Messam.
And in 2012, he and his wife travelled to New York to present rapper Ice T and his wife, Coco, with a portrait of their dog.
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Advertise with NZME.He has also given a dog portrait to dog whisperer Cesar Millan.
