HE DREAMS of one day being as famous as the legendary graffiti artist Banksy.
But, for now 18-year-old Dylan Allman, of Longhill, is simply hoping to make Christmas a little brighter for the people of Hull.
Dylan, who also goes by his art world alter ego Danksy, has left dozens of drawings and paintings at East Park in Holderness Road.
The former South Holderness College student has staged what is known as an art drop, when artists leave a piece of work in a public place and provide clues on social media to help people find it.
"Art drops have become a really popular phenomenon in the past few years," said Dylan.
"I have been trying to get my name out there for quite a while and I think this is a good way to do it.
"I also wanted a way to give something back to the community, because I haven't always been so generous in the past."
When he was younger, Dylan found himself in trouble with the police on a regular basis.
It was through working with the youth offending team in east Hull that he first became interested in pursuing art as a possible career.
"Between the ages of about ten and 15, I got in trouble with the police a lot," he said.
"It was just small things like vandalism or shoplifting and I think I was mainly doing it because there was nothing else to do.
"I had always been interested in art but I didn't start focusing on it until about four years ago.
"One of the officers on the youth offending team said he thought I showed some talent and I decided to start taking it seriously."
While some people consider graffiti to be a public nuisance, others see the best examples as a valuable form of art.
Earlier this year, a Banksy painting called Mobile Lovers was sold at auction for £400,000.
"Art is not the same thing as vandalism," said Dylan.
"There's a big difference between spray-painting your name on a wall and creating an original piece of art.
"I'm not just scrawling something on the side of a building, I am creating a genuine piece of art that people can take home with them for free.
"Creating art has given me something positive to focus on in my life and it has stopped me from reoffending.
"People who think graffiti artists are just criminals are wrong."
Dylan uses stencils and free-hand spray-painting techniques to create his art.
He mainly uses canvas but will also paint on paper or cardboard and whatever else he can get his hands on.
It is not the first time Dylan has done an art drop in East Park, but with dozens of paintings involved, this time it is on a much larger scale.
"It could be the biggest art drop in history," he said.
"I'm really looking forward to people finding my art and I hope people can help me to publicise it by posting pictures on Facebook or Twitter."
In the future, Dylan hopes to sell his pieces in galleries or online.
He is also planning to submit his work for next year's Open Art Exhibition at Ferens Art Gallery.
The budding Banksy hopes he can earn a place in the amateur show in February, but says that no matter what happens, he will still continue to paint.
"Art is my life now and I couldn't imagine doing anything else," he said.
"Even though I'm losing money, I still enjoy doing art drops and I hope it will bring a bit of festive cheer to people's lives.
"Hull can be a bit of a dull and grey city and I think my art will bring some colour and hopefully make people smile."
For more details, search Dylan Danksy Allman on Facebook.
