Long-standing Edinburgh street performer's giant painting to show off decades of Fringe heritage

Gary Knights entertained festival-goers for decades and has now turned his hand to painting.

A street performer who was a mainstay at Edinburgh's Festival for decades is painting a giant canvas dedicated to well-known Fringe faces past and present.

Gary Knights, 64, has been a familiar face on the Royal Mile since he started entertaining festival-goers in 1985. Having now mostly left street performance behind, he has turned his hand to a mammoth painting effort which will see him dedicate thousands of hours to more than 200 portraits.

Gary, who lives near Stratford-Upon-Avon in England's West Midlands, started the painting at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic as he aimed to re-create the normally-bustling streets of Scotland's Capital which fell eerily-silent when in-person Fringe events were cancelled in 2020. Since then, several people have paid to have their portraits added.

Gary Knights, 64, has been a familiar face on the Royal Mile since he started entertaining festival-goers in 1985

He told the Evening News: "The idea was that it would be the Royal Mile with all the performers that would have been there had it gone ahead. I actually started it as a smaller painting about four feet long and did about a thousand hours on that and then binned it because I decided it had to be much bigger, so now it's two metres long.

"And it evolved - it's become about the Edinburgh festival and my life with all those performers because I used to be a street performer and I don't really do it anymore. It's a bit like my swan song from the performing world."

He added: "There are a few greats from the streets like Chollini who are no longer with us, so they're in there and it celebrates them as well."

Gary Knights will dedicate thousands of hours to the painting of street performers on Edinburgh's Royal Mile

With trips north of the border a yearly ritual for Gary, Edinburgh is a city firmly close to heart. "I've always liked Edinburgh", he said.

"It's always been one of my favourite cities in the UK. It looks stunning and I just think it's a really, quirky lovely city.

"And it's got a good performer base up there and, obviously, it just kicks off during the festival. It's a great period, it's probably one of the best festivals going."

Gary has been delighted with the support he has received and is considering what to do with the Sergeant Pepper-esque work when it is completed.

He continued: "Everyone seems to love it. It's generating a lot of interest. I'm getting messages from people on Facebook all the time.

"I might donate it somewhere. I'd like it to hang in Edinburgh during one of the Fringes. The other plan is to do signed limited edition prints of it."

Gary is planning to keep all those who have backed his efforts updated via his social media channels. He is also fundraising online with a £25 donation enough to be featured in the painting.

You can find out more or donate here.