David Hockney sculpture has now 'found its proper home'

A huge portrait of the much-loved Bradford artist - made up of a quarter of a million painted nails - was originally located on the side of a Little Germany building.

Designed by Marcus Levine, it was the world's first coloured nail sculpture and had been in Little Germany since 2017 before it was taken down last September. 

Following a year of repainting, the piece of art has now been put back up in the market, which is set to open next spring.

The sculpture has found a new home in Darley Street Market (Image: UGC) "Now it has gone in the Darley Street Market, it has found its proper home," Mr Levine told the Telegraph & Argus.

"It just overtakes the building and looks immense in there."

Legendary artist David Hockney hails from Bradford (Image: UGC) The work was mounted on the external wall of a commercial building at the junction of Chapel Street and Peckover Street for six years.

The sculpture is 16ft high, 12ft wide, and weighs almost three-quarters of a ton.

The nails that make up the artist's portrait were hammered into a base of lacquered marine plywood and fixed onto the wall.

Mr Levine used the year to repaint all those nails and is delighted the process is now all done.

The work is made up of thousands of nails (Image: UGC) "It has been a long uphill climb," Mr Levine added.

"When I was repainting the heads of the nails, I realised I could not just touch up a few of them.

"It would have just been glaringly wrong so I took it upon myself to repaint every single head of every nail in all 12 panels.

"I was using a very fine tiny watercolour brush so that I didn't mark the other nails.

"When it is all over, there was an immense relief."

The sculpture was once located in Little Germany (Image: UGC) He added: "Following the repaint, it is now more vibrant than it was outside in Little Germany.

"I got immense satisfaction when I stood back and looked at it.

"It is amazing how well those boards did outside for six years.

The market is set to open next Spring (Image: Bradford Council) "It was car body paint that was used. The wind would sweep around the building gather up minute particles of sand.

"There were places where paint had been sandblasted off the head of the nails.

"It was like sandpaper had been brushed along them. It is astonishing what the wind can do.

"Now it is inside, it is going to be protected for many years."