Meet Highway’s Dr Suess of graffiti
Michael Leggat's charming and vibrant cartoon characters can be seen under the Elizabeth Bridge in Kloof.
OVERFLOWING with creativity and a zest for life, Michael Leggat’s artwork, which can be seen under the Elizabeth Bridge in Kloof, easily mimics the 26-year-old’s vibrant personality.
From as young as he can remember, he has drawn every single day of his life and he chose to hone that skill after high school when opted to study industrial design, where he could use his artistic talent to design products and structures in a three-dimensional space.
“Then, last year, corona happened and I was retrenched,” said Leggat. He dropped out of the corporate world and chose to follow his passion and began illustrating again, which he loosely, and jokingly, described as ‘making pretty pictures’.
“I still love and enjoy the work I did in industrial design. It’s just the unlimited creativity and being able to do whatever I want when painting a wall that allows me to just get right into it,” he smiled.
Since his return to the 031, Leggat has been taken under the wing of Damn Vandal (Shaun Oakley), a highly talented and sought after graffiti artist.
With his foot already in the world of graffiti, through his long friendship with Giffy, he was invited to take part in the Kloof Project’s The Bench at the Elizabeth Bridge.
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“All three of the illustrations on the wall were from the top of my head. I sketched them out on paper and then, in a move that is different from most artists, sketched the final piece on an iPad. It took him about four hours to finalise the concept, which includes a Queen Bee carrying and sharing the love, which is depicted as pollen from the flower, throughout the forest.”
This was, he admitted, the first painting he has done in six years.
He joined seven other Durban artists recently to begin, and complete, the colourful art piece.
Leggat described his work as cartoon illustration, “like the Dr Suess of Graffiti,” he chuckled.
While his artwork style is versatile, he hopes to do work that is similar to what was done at the Kloof bridge.
“It is all about spreading the love and having my pictures on walls all over for people to see. I really enjoy doing stuff for the children so that they too are inspired,” he said. “My pieces are mostly character driven and I love characters that tell a story and portray a bit of emotion.”
Another avenue he would like to tap into is children’s book illustrations.
To see more of his work, find Leggat on Instagram and Facebook @Cyan_eyez.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
