Oxford Brewhouse Mural 1995

Back in the 90's my job was a Chalkboard and Mural artist and I was commissioned to do a large mural that was going to be the talk of the town.

 

It certainly did get attention right at the design stage as it first needed council permission as it was near the center of the famous city of Oxford and on an outside gabble wall which was very prominent and seen from many angles as people passed through.

The Brewhouse was one of Oxford's best known pubs in its day and a center for many who enjoyed the nightlife of the city and we worked on a design that celebrated many of the great buildings along side the vibrant life in and around the pub.

It became "the talk of the town" and made the local newspapers because it had a couple running naked through the foliage in the design and it got the newspaper head line, "PUB NUDE MURAL ACCEPTED BY COUNCIL" . Yes there is a nude couple but the scale of the mural disguised the fact as they were only a very small part of the overall Mural.

(I'll let you discover this master piece within)

 

We laughed and were happy to get planning and the painting began.

On a dark and as I remember very cold February myself and my good friend and fellow artist James Cockrane (also the lead singer of a fab band called Cornflower Concept) who was jointly involved embarked on this great opportunity and it started with measuring up and working out how we were going to cut the boards to fit this wall.

Being a bit scared perhaps we had already decided that it would be painted on marine plywood rather than painted straight onto the wall. A good idea as it would withstand the elements better and we remained on Terra Firma while we painted it. We didn't fancy a month or so on wobbly scaffolding!

15 sheets of 3/4 inch heavy plywood and a marque with a space heater! we tackled the giant mural sheet by sheet and using a grid system overlay on our sketch design was the process we used to get the perspective correct (well we hoped!) and over 6 weeks stacking the sheets as we went from top to bottom we painted away surely to some music vibes of which I forget but at the time it was all about the rave.

As it was a gabble end we also had to get the angles right which was a task in it's self as one of us, James! climbed up onto the roof and dangled a tape measure over the edge to get a plumb line every meter from top to bottom so we could plot the angles and shape to contour the building.

Well we didn't know if we had it right until the mural was finally put in place!

The instillation was the first time we experienced wobbly scaffolding but we had a professional builder to help. Yes it was wobbly at first because they hadn't attached the scaffold properly so we had the scar and perhaps exhilaration we were not so keen on in the first place.

Starting at the bottom the first row was attached on batons then the next row rested on top and screwed on and so on.

It was an elation when we found our calculations were perfect and we stood back after the first day with 2/3rds up and saw what we had been working on for the past 2 months coming to its fruition. Exciting times.

Day 2 and the final pieces were fixed and then the decision to give it a frame was made. We coated the mural with 4 coats of water based lacquer as we didn't want to use the exterior varnishes as this would discolour the paint.

As with all the paints and finishes we used, I called the manufacturers on whether the paints would withstand the elements and you learn a lot about paint when you speak to the makers! I wont bore you with the details but I wanted this mural to last.

Well it lasted for 8 years and the last time I saw it it was in perfect condition and perhaps another fresh coat of varnish would of been a good move BUT it's fait was on the cards.

I friend contacted me in 2003 to say the mural was gone and there was a major refurbishment going on in the whole pub.

I decided to get in contact with the company involved with making the decisions which was Bass Brewery.

The bad news was its had been decided that the mural was not in keeping with the new designs for the pub and it was taken down and destined to be "skipped" Ouch that hurt!,

The even more lets say strange news was that the whole mural of 15 very heavy boards was stolen in the night.

It's where abouts is still to this day unknown.

 

Nearly 30 years on I still have a question in my mind, what ever happened to what was certainly the largest work of art I ever did. My counter part James did say a few years back a piece of it was spotted going down a river in Oxford and being used as a bulkhead on a boat. I would say that's a good use and it still had the caricature of the mural on it I believe. Well thats the only way you would recognize it! Those coats of varnish did the trick.

If you do know or have seen the said mural (or part of it!) then get in touch.

 

Paints used on the mural

Primed with white wall primer.

Mural was painted with a mixture of Duluxe house hold Matt paint and artist acrylics.

Then to lift the whole mural posca paint pens were used, black mostly. these are the pens we used to do the chalkboards back then.

Varnish, I think it was Rustins water base varnish. 4 coats roller-ed on once the mural was up. We left this part until it was up to make sure all joints were sealed from the elements!

It looked as good as new for over 8 years and another important factor is that the wall was north facing so rarely saw the sun!

If you wish to pursue a mural then get in touch