Sugar adds to Portarlington resume with new mural

A COLOURFUL mural showcasing some of the region’s most prominent flora and fauna has taken centre stage at Portarlington’s waterfront.

Melbourne-based artist Alex Sugar completed a second work in the town at the toilet block next to the main strip’s rotunda, fresh off a previous project at a major Portarlington venue.

“I was approached by Jenny [McCaulay] and Lorraine [Stokes] from the Port Arts Network a few months ago as they had seen my work in the Portarlington Grand Hotel,” he said.

“I had been commissioned to paint an underwater mural in the Grand Hotel at the start of 2022, and since then I have painted a couple of others around the Geelong city region.”

The recent commission involved highlighting some of the native wildlife that can be found across the region.

“The task was to paint local flora and fauna found throughout the Bellarine,” Mr Sugar said.

“I specifically picked those animals to complement each other in their colour palette, with an earthy monochromatic background tone, then divided the wall into two sections, the left being birds and the right being reptiles, with a few local flowers to tie it in together.”

Mr Sugar has made the trip to Portarlington a few times in the past, stating it was always a “cool” time when he visits, and also saw his Grand Hotel design for the first time since completing it.

“Jenny, Lorraine and their friends were all really cool to hang out with and to show me around the area,” Mr Sugar said.

“It was also really cool to finally go to the pub and see my work come to life at night with the venue’s lights.

“It’s always nice seeing people walk past with a smile while checking out the mural.

“I hope they are happy with what I have created and enjoy the snake piece too, which can sometimes rattle a few people.”

Mr Sugar said he hoped to come back to Portarlington for another project.