Bringing the Hampshire countryside indoors
Jul 01, 2026
A couple of months ago, I was delighted to be commissioned by Enham Alamein and Aster Group to create a large-scale mural for their newly built activities centre.
Before putting pencil to paper, I spent a morning with the team, exploring the site, chatting about their vision, and taking in the beautiful landscape surrounding the centre. It was important that the mural reflected not only the building itself but also the local environment that makes the area so special.
The brief was wonderfully open: celebrate the Hampshire countryside with an abundance of native flora and fauna. From wildflowers and leafy hedgerows to the wildlife that calls this landscape home, the design gradually evolved into a vibrant celebration of nature.
The finished mural measures an impressive 5.5 metres long by 1.2 metres high. To make the project more cost-effective, we decided to paint it on five individual boards in my studio before they were installed in the activities centre. Luckily, my 5-metre teaching table—usually reserved for art classes—turned out to be the perfect workspace!
Once the overall composition had been sketched out, I began blocking in the colours. Initially, I expected to complete each board separately, but I quickly realised it worked far better to keep all five panels laid out together. Seeing the mural as one continuous piece allowed me to balance the colours, movement and composition across the entire design.
From the first sketch to the final brushstroke, the mural took around seven to eight full days to complete. It was a thoroughly enjoyable project from start to finish, and one of those commissions that reminded me just how rewarding it is to create artwork that will be enjoyed by so many people every day.
Before putting pencil to paper, I spent a morning with the team, exploring the site, chatting about their vision, and taking in the beautiful landscape surrounding the centre. It was important that the mural reflected not only the building itself but also the local environment that makes the area so special.
The brief was wonderfully open: celebrate the Hampshire countryside with an abundance of native flora and fauna. From wildflowers and leafy hedgerows to the wildlife that calls this landscape home, the design gradually evolved into a vibrant celebration of nature.
The finished mural measures an impressive 5.5 metres long by 1.2 metres high. To make the project more cost-effective, we decided to paint it on five individual boards in my studio before they were installed in the activities centre. Luckily, my 5-metre teaching table—usually reserved for art classes—turned out to be the perfect workspace!
Once the overall composition had been sketched out, I began blocking in the colours. Initially, I expected to complete each board separately, but I quickly realised it worked far better to keep all five panels laid out together. Seeing the mural as one continuous piece allowed me to balance the colours, movement and composition across the entire design.
From the first sketch to the final brushstroke, the mural took around seven to eight full days to complete. It was a thoroughly enjoyable project from start to finish, and one of those commissions that reminded me just how rewarding it is to create artwork that will be enjoyed by so many people every day.
If you’d like to take a closer look at the painting process, see the individual panels, and explore more photographs of the finished mural, head over to the Public Murals section from the main menu.
