English: New Regent Street, Capturing shadows in shades of blue by Jeremy Sauzier. On my walk around the city to see what is happening, May 16, 2014 Christchurch New Zealand.

A shadow-catcher is bringing New Regent St's boarded-up shop frontages to life.

By night, St Albans artist Jeremy Sauzier captures the outline of people's shadows with a tripod, a light and a chalk pen.

By day, he fills them in with shades of blue.

Sauzier, 38, expects his "transitional" project Frieze: Stand in the Sun to continue through to the end of July.

"It's sort of a play on words between literally standing still and a frieze," he said.

"It will take me a wee while. I want to get it looking really finished and give it all two coats."

The five boarded-up units he is using as a canvas are owned by the same Christchurch family.

Sauzier started "collecting" and painting shadows at art school in 2005.

"Everyone has got a shadow. I like that," he said.

In New Regent St, he has painted shadows of friends, shop owners, tourists and strangers who were drawn into the project while walking past.

Sauzier also features in the artwork; a friend collected his shadow while he was playing with his daughter.

"[Indigo] just started climbing up on me. We were laughing and my friend just went for it," he said.

There's a cafe scene by Coffee Lovers, featuring French tourists, a father and son, and a Christchurch film-maker.

"The tram drivers are not in there yet."

The boarded-up frontages have previously prompted complaints from New Regent St retailers who considered them unsightly.

The fate of the buildings is still unclear, but Sauzier's artwork will brighten them up in the meantime.

He was grateful for the New Regent St site because he unsuccessfully approached several different building owners around the central city before securing it.

"The big thing for me is to have a safe place to do it.

"I'm really enjoying working down here."

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