painting a bus stop mural
In June 2024, 8 months pregnant and literally about to pop, I painted my third mural of my 3rd trimester, a bus stop in Cannington, Somerset for the RHS South West in Bloom competition. (Cannington was entered into the best large village category.) In the heat of the summer sun, we decorated the bus shelter and transformed it from red brick and pebble dash to teals, pinks, yellows and greens, embedding vignettes of agriculture and rural past times of village life into the brick.
Cannington is my family home, although now I live in the Midlands. If I ever find myself staying over on a Sunday night, I’m sure to wake early on a Monday morning to the sounds of the rural and agriculture vehicles roaring by. Grain lorries, tractors and coaches headed to Hinckley Point go rumbling by, rattling the windows as I hunker down in bed, glad its not time to get up yet.
My family have lived in the village since 2013 and although I try and visit often, it is usually fleeting so 2 whole days of painting felt indulgent and I felt nurtured by the reactions of the community.
In a small town, putting some colour, care and attention onto something as simple as a bus shelter didn’t go unnoticed. Every so often, my back to the road, I’d hear someone shouting and spin round to see a car crawling by. The driver would lean out and shout something along the lines of ‘love it’….’looking so much better’ or 'thank you’ over to me and Fred.
The weekend in June also happened to be the village ‘community day’ where local folk rallied together to take on tasks around the streets of Cannington. Residents came to help paint the bus stop including Sue who put in a valiant shift painting crisp lines over the bumpy surface which could be described as barnicle-esque.
Part way through painting we were made aware that a local celebrity lived in the village…Tony the cat! He has a loving home and is well cared for, but enjoys a meander through the streets to frequent the cat food on the shelves at the local Spar supermarket, or to lay in the bedding plants at the Walled Gardens Tea Rooms. Residents asked ‘are you putting Tony on there?’
At the end of day 2, having completed some internet Sleuthing on ‘Cannington Now’ I gathered photos of Tony (who was unavailable to sit for his portrait) and made a few practice drawings, knowing how important it would be to get his #thuglife expression just right. I hope your picture is to your liking Tony! And we hope everyone in Cannington enjoys their colourful bus stop!
