The 7th mural: 4 Pansy Street
A secret garden scene with tree of life, ivy curtain and pansy guardians...
This was a very special mural for me. I had already painted two enormous pansies in the archway of the house on the other side of the street. This mural was a celebration of nature and a wonderful opportunity to paint one of my “life-giving trees”.
Ongoing saga with bins
Before I started, I had to work with the local councillor, the bin guys, the tenant of the house and other residents to figure out a practical solution about the bins. A couple of years ago, the ordinary wheely bins were cleared from the alleyways between the backs of the houses, because there were problems with rats, rubbish, crime etc. These communal bins were then put on the ends of some of the streets. But not many people like them - especially the owners of 1 Daisy Street, because they love their mural and don’t want it to be blocked by bins. There are also problems with “bin tourists” who drive in from other areas and put 5 bags of rubbish at once in these communal bins and then drive off. I decided to not do any detailed artwork in the lower 2 metres, because the bins need to go somewhere. Apparently they might get replaced with bigger ones.
Another wall in terrible condition
As you can see from the photo above, this wall was quite damaged and the tenant was afraid that a piece might fall out of the mural, even though he wanted the mural to happen. I sent a letter months ago to the owner explaining my vision for the gable end and how the mural would likely increase the value of the house, so it would be worth stripping and re-rendering beforehand. But he didn’t think this was important… I did a bit of patching up with Colin and Rod, but even so thought it best to save the detailed artwork for the archway only, the flat area of which wasn’t actually too bad.
Green sets the scene
Two rich forest green shades frame the archway and set the scene. I used paintings I have done previously as visual references.
As usual, we worked from the top down. Danielle and I painted the ivy curtain first - something I have always wanted to do! We used stencils I had cut from real ivy leaves.
A tree of life for the Flower Streets
One of my favourite things to paint, that inspire and excite me the most, are “harmonious trees”. Here are some examples of previous paintings:
Obviously, it’s much easier painting these intricate trees on a nice smooth surface with oil paint. I was determined to achieve the same radiant and “electrified” effect on the bumpy surface of the wall, with heavy body acrylic paint. What do you think?
Making all the elements “cohesive”
One of the hardest things I’ve found is making all the different elements of the mural come together. There was the idea of a pathway that I wanted to get in. I needed to leave a blank space for the words. I settled on a patch of daisies in the space between the tree roots and the lower area. (Pansy Street is right next to Daisy Street.)
But I didn’t forget the pansies! I assigned one pot of pansies to my artistic helper Rod, and another to Danielle.
The words - in collaboration with the resident
When I first met the tenant of 4 Pansy Street, he said he sometimes goes to Wales and Ireland and just immerses himself in nature.
“Nature can teach us all the lessons of life we need to learn,” he said.
I mused over this for a few months and came up with a slightly adapted wording:
“In nature we discover wisdom for all the seasons of our lives.”
which he approved! He also likes the green colour, since he is of Irish stock…
The limited, but carefully chosen use of words on my murals is important. I was advised by a local poet: “You want to leave the impression of a strong question or pure line that people will get to know.” Because people are so varied in their personalities and life experience, any statement needs to be open to multiple interpretations and be thought-provoking, but not too prescriptive or preachy. And it needs to be concise. This is difficult.
Painting the beauty of nature in one of Merseyside’s most deprived areas
I was fortunate to have a good childhood. I grew up in the rural Aberdeenshire/Speyside region of northern Scotland. The peace and beauty of nature soaked into my heart and soul. Now I am pouring it out here, in this place that has seen a dramatic improvement over the last few months, but still with problems. The expensive CCTV cameras on lampposts were sawn down a couple of months ago, as yet unreplaced and the culprit not found. It’s no secret that 4 Snowdrop Street is a drug dealing base. Even more unfortunately, this is a gable end that the Council want me to paint a mural on, and the permission form has still not been signed.
I’m not sure what the Council and all the people involved are going to do about this. I have a great design all ready to go. But for now, I will crack on with the 8th mural: the second for Woodbine Street.
Thank you to everyone who helped me bring the mural on 4 Pansy Street into existence!
Special thanks go to Kev, Rod, Colin and Danielle, whose practical assistance and moral support has been a lifeline, particularly as I began to suffer from mental exhaustion half-way through. It also makes me really happy to see visitors and friends - old and new - photographing the murals and enthusing about this work, and the approving smiles and encouragement from the local people.
Adjectives fail me, Madeleine. . .
I'm in awe of the murals you've already gotten done. The Love and Beauty embodied on these walls is going out over all the earth, and I daresay innumerable souls have already been saved from hopelessness by the vision they provide, doorways to a glimpse of heaven.
If only I had a million dollars to give I would! The entire world should have such art. 🙏🏻 💓 💐 🌹 🌸 🏵 🌼