Zizzi Camulodunum!

Roman inspired mural

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star mural

Zizzi Ristorante commission James Grover to create two murals for a refurbishment of their Colchester restaurant.
The first of the murals was inspired by Roman pottery and mosaics, James immersed himself in the history of Colchester (or Camulodunum as it was known in Roman times) to make this gorgeous decorative piece. The second appears on the stairway at the restaurant, a star in the night sky with “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” written around the edge of a diamond - originally written as “The Star” by English poet and former Colchester resident, Jane Taylor. Both works of art were painted using acrylic paint pens and emulsion, and surely transform the interior from restaurant to gallery!

Gregor on the Sherlock Set

Max at work on the Sherlock set

views of the final mural in the wedding scene

 

 

wedding invite motif

Max Gregor designs and paints a mural for the backdrop of Watson's wedding in a recent episode of BBC's Sherlock. Commissioned by the Production Designer, Max also created a black and white motif for the wedding invite seen in popular crime drama.

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Grover at Zizzi

port crane detail

suspended frames

James Grover creates a mural for Zizzi Ipswich.
Commissioned by the Design manager at Zizzi, James worked over a five day period to complete the different elements of the painting. Using a scaffold tower for the high parts, James has produced an awesome piece of art for the restaurant. He says "The mural is a map of Ipswich’s centre, showing the main attractions and significant buildings. There are also a few little bits of info about the town dotted around too. The frames are made to look like they are suspended by a port crane which I was also asked to draw. The designs were produced using acrylic paint pens and emulsion."

A Phoenix in London

Andy Council paints a dynamic centrepiece mural.
Commissioned for the new offices of Armstrong International in the heart of London's financial district, the elegant phoenix design is made up of many of the iconic modern high rise buildings found in the area and beyond.

Maxus Mural

Chrissy posing with the final mural

detail

Commissioned by media agency Maxus Australia, Chrissy Lau creates a unique mural in their kitchen and dining area.
The brief was to visually translate the agency's positioning of 'Lean into Change', so after receiving everyone's ideas, Chrissy focussed on the key words of innovation, digital, change, future, vibrancy and organic growth.

She says of the end result "On one wall is Einstein's quote "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change" with the word 'change' repeated in different styles of font. On the larger wall is a futuristic rocketman leaning into change - I've made him quite playful with a propeller on his head to represent the agency's personality as they all have a good sense of humour."

And the mural has pleased the team at Maxus,  CEO Jonathan Chadwick says of the piece:

".... Chrissy created a brilliant image that we feel perfectly encapsulates the agency culture (first take). As the Mural was being developed the agency became more and more excited about the meticulous detail of the unravelling design. After a few days our mural was finally revealed and the decision was unanimous – a masterpiece had been created. Thanks for a brilliant job Chrissy, we love your work!"

Ilfra-Expo

Hanging outside Ilfracombe Museum

Hannah Davies completes a beautiful artwork for Ilfra-Expo.

Asked to create a large scale mural to be displayed in a temporary location across Ilfracombe, Hannah was thrilled to hear of the opportunity.
Talking of the commission which was in collaboration with fellow artist Lianne Harrison, she says "We were in awe of the Georgian and Victorian houses that line the harbour and are so prominent in this town. We were captured by the fishing boats and the history of the industry . Our aim is to bring this history to life using vibrant colours, shapes and textures to create a wonderful, inspiring collaboration to sit outside the local museum.’
Showing until August 4th, the artwork can now be seen on the outside wall of Ilfracombe Museum in North Devon alongside Lianne's piece.



From the Ilfra-Expo organisers:
"From July 14th to August 4th 2013 the seaside town of Ilfracombe will be hosting a range of contemporary artworks, projects and events. Ilfra-Expo will unfold through a series of guided tours and artist talks that will accompany an exhibition of artworks creating a trail of discovery around the historically rich town.

Ilfra-Expo will be presenting artworks in diverse locations, including unused shops and public spaces, as well as the town’s museums, heritage sites and other places important to the local community.
 
The selected artist’s for Ilfra-Expo 2013 are exhibiting existing artworks as well as developing new artworks inspired by the town. Project Manager Erin Rickard has been working closely with the artists, volunteers and community to develop an intimate artistically led experience for visitors to Ilfracombe and Ilfra-Expo. This promises to be an imaginative exhibition that will inspire public interest in both the town’s heritage and in young British artists."

Ele Goes on Parade

 

Due to go on parade next week, Vicky Scott's design for the Elephant Parade is now complete. Vicky has been working on the 3D baby elephant mural for the last month, and is relishing the moment it joins the rest of the herd as part of a year long tour across the UK. The Elephant Parade is "the world’s largest open air art exhibition of decorated elephant statues that seeks to attract public awareness and support for Asian elephant conservation". The finished pieces are exhibited in well-known cities and auctioned off at prestigious gala events. To track down the herd go here for more information.

Portas Pilots

photograph by www.paulgreenphotography.com

Andy Council has recently completed this magnificent mural of a horse in the Bedminster area of Bristol. It was commissioned as part of the Government’s ‘Portas Pilots’ – an initiative to get TV retail guru Mary Portas to help revitalise town centres. Bedminster’s bid, put together by local traders, community leaders and councillors, had the vision of turning the south Bristol suburb into a renowned ‘village’ centre for street art and street theatre, complete with a bicycle rickshaw service. Andy's large mural took several days of work to complete with the help of the Upfest team, the use of a scissor lift and dozens of cans of spray paint. The horse was chosen to reflect the area's mining past and it is purely coincidental that current news stories involve horses!

Weston Super Mural

Andy Council was recently commissioned by North Somerset Council to produce a large scale mural in the centre of Weston-Super-Mare.

Local school children helped Andy come up with the design by choosing which animals best represent the seaside town.  A Dragon was chosen as it's the local Council's logo, a Donkey; as they give rides on the beach and a Seagull; as they live around the town.  The animals are made up of landmarks from the town and seaside items such as sticks of rock and ice cream cones.

Andy Council: MAY Artist in Residence

Andy Council is 'artist in residence' for May at Zion Community Art Centre in Bristol. He will be there all month making the giant 'Zionaceratops' sculpture using cardboard, model trees, flock and spray paint, with a little help from local children who will be making some of the houses. The final piece will hang permanently from the ceiling when completed. Andy has already painted a mural for the new community garden and will also be giving a talk on his work - Illustration, Street Art and Dinosaurs. Here we see a picture of the mural Andy has done for the centre and a blueprint of the sculpture he is currently making.

Innovation Centre Mural

Andy Council has done a wonderful job with this recent commission for University of Bath’s Innovation Centre. The large mural is painted on the wall of the Centre's new DigiCity space for creators, coders, innovators, cool digerati (people who have a very sound understanding of computer technology), those that live and work in Bath and  those who are just passing through. Andy says "The spraypaint and acrylic mural is of a huge dragon type creature made up of Bath city landmarks. Being a flying dragon represents the new, change and innovation that the centre is all about. It is a nod to the old icons in the city but is modern in it's execution and style. It is relevant being the Year of the Dragon and the rise of the East. The centre aims to have connections to the east and all over the world." For more information on this commission look at Bath Digital and Bath University.
 Andy's work cleverly fuses drawing with architecture, structure and character, for a strong individual look.