Run Colour Run - Daisy de Villeneuve - Great North Run Culture

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Daisy de Villeneuve : Run Colour Run

Best known for her eye-catching designs for the likes of the V&A, Nike, Moët & Chandon and Topshop, designer and illustrator Daisy de Villeneuve is creating a series of portraits in her distinctive colourful style for Great North Run Culture 2013.

Last year Daisy went behind the scenes at the world’s biggest half marathon to find inspiration and material for her Great North Run Culture commission, Run Colour Run. "What I saw when I went to the Great North Run was there were a lot of people, it was very visual. I went around with my camera and I took photos of anyone I thought looked interesting. So, I’ve taken pictures of a whole range of people – not just the athletes and participants, but the hospitality staff, security, the Red Arrows, event organisers, people with their families, kids cheering on their dads, people in costumes, different characters that stood out to me. A lot of these will show up in my portraits.”

Daisy says she was particularly inspired by David Hockney’s portraits for this project, and by Sir Peter Blake (commissioned by Great North Run Culture in 2010 to produce a series of limited edition prints to celebrate 30 years of the Great North Run), as well as pop artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. "I’ve drawn people behind the scenes, so audiences will see a different perspective of the Run. I’ve always loved colour, it comes naturally to me to use colour in my work – when I was taking pictures at the Run it was the colours that stood out to me. From the photos I then draw portraits, although I’ll often change something about the original image to make it more colourful.”

Daisy chats about Run Colour Run in her Paris studio: