A street artist dubbed Kent’s answer to Banksy has produced another stunning and poignant work – this time on the side of a flooring shop.

Known as Catman, the elusive creator has painted an image showing two young girls – one white and one black – sharing an umbrella in the rain.

It appeared on the side of Brown’s flooring in Tankerton, Whitstable, on Monday morning.

Catman, who lives in the town, has been compared to Banksy for his desire for anonymity and thought-provoking street art, often carried out under cover of darkness.

He first created his latest image, called Shower of Hope, on canvas in his studio, which art lovers have already been keen to buy.

He has now transferred an almost identical image to the shop building, with the blessing of the business owners,

“The inspiration behind the artwork is the way children look at the world and others around them,” he told KentOnline.

“They do not see race or discriminate against others, which are tendencies nobody is born with but unfortunately some pick up later in life due to their environment, media or the influence of people around them.

“The canvas is an edition of 10 and painted the same way I produced it on the street, with editions still available.”

The work has prompted hundreds of comments of approval on Catman’s Facebook page.

“Another amazing, thought provoking masterpiece,” writes Mandy Whiting.

“So talented - love seeing your creations,” adds Anna Day.

In an interview with KentOnline in 2021, Catman said he was originally flattered to be compared to Banksy but was forging his own individual style.

That year he re-imagined an image of Vincent Van Gogh with a spray can, kneeling beside a sunflower which he recreated on the side of public loos in Whitstable.

In 2020, he painted a picture on the former Debenhams in Canterbury, called The Usual Suspects, which featured world-famous artists Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol and Keith Haring in a police-style line-up.

It was a reproduction of a popular mural Catman originally created in London's Portobello Road in 2017, which he has since exhibited around the world.

Also in 2020, he paid homage to the hard-pressed NHS and medics on the frontline at the height of the pandemic with a street image in Whitstable of a stressed-looking doctor wearing a white coat and face mask with a stethoscope slung around his neck.

But behind him, his shadow does not match his dejected posture. Instead, it shows the silhouette of an upright superhero, wearing a cape.

The previous year, he took a dig at Boris Johnson and the Brexit referendum with an image of the then Prime Minister holding a TV style ‘Deal or No Deal’ red box which appeared in Hatton Garden in London.

And again in 2019, he was busy in Whitstable, creating an anti-plastic piece of artwork on the side of the Pilgrims Hospice shop in Whitstable, marking the birthday of wildlife documentary legend Sir David Attenborough.

To see more of his work, go to www.catmanartist.com