PEOPLE in Southampton and the New Forest have been busy getting arty this summer in a bid to brighten up the Town Quay Marina.

ABP Southampton has been working with environmental regeneration charity, Groundwork South, on The Urban and Coastal Art Competition.

The project has seen budding Van Goghs – and their families - come together to create pieces of art at four free summer workshops in Town Quay Marina and Lloyd Recreation Ground, in Marchwood. The winning designs, which will be selected from over 40 entries, will be used to decorate two quayside containers.

Once the top entries have been selected, the shortlisted pieces will be displayed at an exhibition at Town Quay Marina later this year. The lucky winners will not only see the transformed container units first-hand, they will also win prizes such as art material vouchers or a family day-out, with spending money included.

Claire Salerno, business development manager at Groundwork South, said: “The workshops have been a great success and saw a huge turnout of people. The families were pleased to go to a free, fun and creative workshop where they could get messy with paints, chalks and crayons.

“We have received fantastic entries from all ages and abilities and it was great to see some friendly competition between siblings – and the Groundwork South staff! We now look forward to judging the entries and announcing the winners shortly.”

To find out more about Groundwork visit www.groundwork.org.uk and Town Quay Marina visit www.townquay.com