Art / News
Painting the Clifton Observatory
A huge mural featuring familiar sights across Bristol is being painted inside the Clifton Observatory.
Children’s book illustrator Paula Bowles also painted the Shaun located outside the observatory during the summer.
is needed now More than ever
The mural shares many of the same themes as the Shaun, which Bowles describes as a “fun representation of our beautiful city of Bristol, focused around the harbour with lots of different landmarks popping up here and there”.
The owners of the observatory loved the design of her sculpture so much that they commissioned something a bit more permanent.
We have water! #BristolHarbour #ObservatoryMural @Clifton_Observ pic.twitter.com/xW1pFk5CnT
— Paula Bowles (@Paula_Bowles) October 9, 2015
A window halfway up the staircase acted as inspiration for Bowles.
“I felt it was a key influence in the composition as it more or less cuts the wall space in half. So I ended up composing the landscape around the window, and felt that the Suspension Bridge would fit well, with each tower either side of the window, and the bridge running underneath.
“This then meant that the composition would naturally mean the south of Bristol spread out to the left and the north of Bristol to the right hand side of the window.
“I wanted to include a lot of detail in the mural for people to spend time looking at and to discuss, and to offer a different way of looking at a very familiar landscape.”
Find out how much the Shaun sculptures sold for at last week’s auction.