Minerva's Owls of Bath

I was delighted to be asked to create a design to help launch Minerva's Owls of Bath, the 2018 Public Art sculpture trail around Bath.

'The Owl and the Pussycat'

The Roman baths in Bath were dedicated to the Celtic goddess Sulis and Roman goddess Minerva whose symbol is the owl, a depiction of which can be seen on the iconic carved stone Gorgon's head temple pediment. 10 years on from King Bladud's Pigs in Bath, 100 variously adorned owl sculptures will  fill the streets of Bath from June to September.

Sponsored by local businesses, they will be auctioned in October with the profits going to several local charities: The RUH's 'Forever Friends' Cancer Centre appeal, The UK Little Owl Project, Banes Young Carers and The Roman Baths Archway Centre Project.

Full details about the project can be found on their website Minerva's Owls of Bath 

To reference the gilt bronze Minerva's head statue at the Roman Baths, I decided to use gold in my design, and inspired by beautiful Japanese gold screen paintings which often show birds and animals, I chose Edward Lear's famous nonsense poem, 'The owl and the Pussycat' as a theme. 

My owl is kindly sponsored by The Southgate Centre Bath, whose own summer theme for 2018 of gardens, prompted me to include wisteria and cherry blossom in the design. The 'lots of honey' in the poem is depicted by honey bees amongst the flowers and the 'five pound note' will be hidden in a slightly unusual place!

 I can't wait for summer to arrive!

Knights Trail 2017

With family history in Lincoln and the Lincolnshire area stretching back many generations, I was delighted to create a design and paint a knight for the Lincoln Knights Trail 2017. This trail celebrates the 800th Anniversary of the Battle of Lincoln and the signing of the Charter of the Forest.

My knight is called 'Lincoln Greene' and is inspired by the Charter of the Forest and the traditional dyers colour of Lincoln Green,( famously worn by Robin Hood). The horse is decorated in a medieval style forest containing dyers plants, and the knight is a greenman wearing the Lincoln insignia of a Fleur de Leys.

From 20th-27th September, all 36 knights from the trail can be viewed together at Lincoln Castle before they are auctioned on 30th September Tickets are available from Visit Lincoln .The auction will be raising funds for The Nomad Trust  a wonderful charity which provides support for the homeless and those in need in the City of Lincoln.

Lincoln Greene

A Sheep in the Sun

Having already painted 'Star Grazer' for the Go Herdwick project, I was surprised and very pleased when Paula and Graham, the owners of  Lingmoor Guest House in Windermere who are sponsoring one of the ewes, asked me to create and paint a design for them.

The theme they requested was a celebration of the beauty of Cumbria through all the seasons, a sentiment that had prompted them to buy their guest house which they viewed whilst taking part in the TV programme 'A Place in the Sun'.

Featuring some of the many things Cumbria is famous for, 'A Sheep in the sun' shows daffodils, a Herdwick lamb, a red squirrel and a little rabbit sleepily enjoying the sunshine. Even the ewe herself seems to be nodding off , A sheep in the sun, asleep in the sun!

The design took several weeks to paint, using the acrylic as glazes to build up layers for a depth and luminosity of colour.

The #GoHerdwick trail of 60 decorated ewes will start on Good Friday 25th March, and will also be joined later in the year on 27th May by a 'Hide and Seek' trail of 30 lambs. For more information visit Go Herdwick.

Funds raised by the sale of the sculptures in the autumn will go to the Calvert Trust's campaign to raise £1.3 million to redevelop their Old Windbrowe site in Keswick. The Trust provides specialised outdoor adventure challenges for people with disabilities.

Celebrating Cumbria in all seasons, 'A Sheep in the sun' is for everyone living or visiting here, their dream place in the sun'  #cumbriaisopen #placetobe

Go Herdwick

I'm really thrilled to be part of the Go Herdwick public art project which will see beautiful Herdwick Sheep sculptures by Alan Dun, individually decorated by artists and designers, creating a trail in Cumbria from Easter to the autumn in 2016.
Organised by the Lake District Calvert Trust who deliver challenging outdoor adventure holidays for people with disabilities, to celebrate their 40th Anniversry and with support from community interest public art consultants Art at the Edge, the trail will aim to raise funds for it's wonderful work, by auctioning the sculptures in the autumn 2016.

Go Herdwick will be launched by the popular 'Herdy Shepherd' James Rebanks, at their Charity ball at Low Wood Bay Hotel, Windermere on Sept 11th . If you would like to sponsor a ewe please contact the Trust on  017687 72255.

My design 'Star Grazer' ( aka Betty!) is inspired by a beautiful Cumbrian meadow and it highlights the importance of sheep in helping to re-seed meadows by trampling the seeds into the earth. It features some of the plant and insect life of a typical Cumbrian meadow.

My ewe arrived at the weekend and here is an early work in progress picture!

Year of the bus update

The Year of the Bus sculpture trail was launched last month with a spectacular display of decorated buses in Trafalgar square. The 60 buses all individually designed by artists, now form 3 trails in the capital, in Westminster, by the river and at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Organised by Wild in Art and Transport for London,  the project celebrates 60 years of the routemaster bus. The buses will be auctioned to raise money for 3 charities, Kids Company, Transaid and the London Transport Museum.

My 'Brollybus' inspired by the iconic London Transport posters of the past, and featuring St Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge to represent the past and the present, is situated by the Millennium Bridge on Bankside, near the Tate Modern.

More information can be found at Transport for London