Marvellous Murals - for all kinds of murals

We have silenced Charlie Sheen as requested by the council.

This is not something I was asked to do, it wasn't even something I wanted to do - it was something that I had to do!  

For as long as I can remember we have had promises of plans to redevelop this town, whilst all the time our High Street is decaying before our eyes.  It's just a few weeks before the election and I wanted to get people talking about the problem.

I've been working as a mural artist for 20 years now, travelling all over the country painting art on huge walls with permission and getting paid for it.  Before art college in the Eighties I was a graffiti artist creating street art back when Banksy was still in nappies, but the days of sneaking around at night creating art with spray cans are far behind me.  Give me more daylight and a bit more time and you get much better results - plus I like talking to policemen rather than running away from them!

Now I didn't get permission to do this as I knew that it would never be granted, but I had been told by several Swale Councillors (I'm not naming any names - your secret is safe with me!) that even some colourful graffiti would be preferable to the depressing site that Sittingbourne has become in places.  I chose the side of the old boarded-up Focus DIY store as it's what first greets you as you enter the town centre and I decided to resurrect my old street name - Bogus.

I went out to do it early one Sunday morning a few weeks ago when there was no -one around but it was just too cold and the paint wouldn't flow.  People may have notices a feint face which has been their for a while.  Due to work and family commitments the next opportunity to do it was a not for a few weeks later.  Being a middle-aged grandfather who feels the cold I was a bit blasé about carrying it out the second time and waited until late into the first warm morning this week.  It took me about 10 minutes to do and there was lots of people going past.  It was inevitable that someone was going to take a photo on their phone.

Within an hour of finishing the mural the council were on the phone to me accusing me of vandalism!  They had photographic proof it was me and several witnesses.  I defended myself pointing out that it was art and not vandalism, the paint was confined to the shuttering which will be removed and destroyed when when (if) the store reopens and the message was not offensive.  The councillor went on to tell me that it wouldn't be allowed as it was a political message.  I disagreed with this as well as, yes it may stir up political debate, but it favoured no political party.

He went away to speak to his colleagues and came back with their answer.  They really liked it but it has to go!  They like the portrait but not the wording!  It's too political!!!  I apologize for all the exclamation marks but I really can't understand why stirring up political debate a few weeks before an election is a bad thing.  I have agreed that I will remove the writing this evening before anyone alse gets upset and starts asking politicians why they are ot doing their jobs.

Peace and love.  Bogus!

We painted this American flag in a young mans living room. It is 10 ft x 8 ft and took us just over a day to complete.

We painted this recently for a young man in a residential home.

Its on two walls and features himself as Spiderman swinging across the new york sky line at night.

The stars and windows are all painted with glow in the dark paint.

We have spent the past couple of weeks fighting against the elements to paint this Family Centre in Charlton, London.  We were asked to paint it by Mears Construction Group and they supplied the materials and design.  

I was quite disappointed with the supplied design, created by the construction groups architect, as it was very basic and uninspiring with silhouetted elephants and tigers painted repetedly around the building.  My offered suggestions for improvements were refused as it would have had to go back to planning so I agreed to paint it exactly as it was in the design.

A last minute colour change saw the background change from purple to the standard dark grey of the other buildings on the estate and the pink of the elephants changed to purple.  The tigers are painted in an Orange/Yellow according to the original design.

I was disappointed with the results and so were the staff of the Family Centre.  In fact the only people happy with the results were the construction company as it was delivered on time and on budget!  I think the elephants hardly contrast at all against the grey but see what you think.

Lately we have been playing with our new time lapse camera and have made a few short films of us in action painting murals.  Here are the results!

Gibbon Tree

Springtime at the Hawkenbury Inn

Make a Wish

Thanks go to my Son, Dylan, who edited and produced the videos.

We are well known for painting this pub every Christmas with winter scenes but this year (2013) the pub has changed hands and is under new management.

The old landlord wanted to paint the pub one last time with a spring theme rather than just going back to white and the new owners are really happy with the results! They will be keeping up the tradition of painting the pub every Christmas, but for now you can enjoy this scene of rebirth and renewal.

To see all the pictures of this new mural then click here

We are back once again at The Hawkenbury but this time, instead of painting it back to plain white we are going to create a spring-time mural that will last until next Christmas!

We will be there for the next two weeks if you want to stop by for a swift half and a natter!

We've been painting this tree full of gibbons in the reception room of a family centre.  For the first time we have used a time lapse camera to record the events and this is the results!

I must thank my son, Dylan, for producing the video and I'm really pleased with the results!  I hope to do more in the future!

This mural is painted in the attic of a gentlemans house, depicting a window view of a waterfall, surrounded by a woods and a mountain in the distance. In the foreground is a Drongo bird as per the client's request. This mural is 4 foot wide and took us 3 days to complete.

For more pictures of this click here to go to the page.