PROJECT STORY
larkhill retirement village murals

Clifton Retirement Village is a very large, purpose built community for retired people, just outside Nottingham. There is a long corridor that runs the length of the main building, where the shops, bar and gym reside. There are several plain walls since the area was refurbished 18 months ago and the residents had tried so many things to try and make the area feel welcoming; including a very expensive ‘living wall’ had sadly died within months of it being installed. So I was asked to come up with some ideas as an easy to maintain alternative.

The idea was to create two murals featuring scenes from Nottingham, areas that the residents might know and so we used the castle as our inspiration. One mural, next to the bar area was painted with a scene from within the castle, incorporating the famous Robin Hood statue. The perspective means that you feel you are sitting within the castle, something that the residents like enormously.

The second mural featured the castle from afar, providing more of a traditional painting of this much loved landmark. The residents enjoyed watching the murals appear and I was afraid of not finishing as I was engaged in conversation so much of the time. But thankfully, all was well and the murals were finished and protected with two coats of Fire Retardant varnish to complete the project. These murals have been so well received, and they are already looking for further spaces to have more painted.