Coronation Bench

I’ve been working on a big art project with Blythefield Primary School, Belfast. They are one of 15 schools from across the UK, and the only school in Northern Ireland, to win a competition run by Historic Royal Palaces to design their own illustrated Coronation bench, inspired by their hopes for the future during the reign of King Charles III.

Global public art producers Wild In Art commissioned me to bring Blythefield PS’s winning design to life by painting it on to a blank Coronation Bench sculpture.

Firstly I held a workshop at the school, to explore the children’s winning design with them and to give the children a chance to try out the techniques I would be using when painting their design onto the bench. Elements from their winning design, drawings from life done in the school garden, hand lettering and positive, fun drawings were combined on a 5ft square mural that the children helped me to paint.

Then I painted the Coronation Bench in my home work space before it was transported to Hillsborough Castle Gardens, where it will be on display until the end of the summer.

It has been a delight to work with the pupils and teachers at Blythefield Primary School and I was so happy to see on today’s news that, when visiting Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, King Charles and Queen Camilla got to meet the pupils and sit on their Coronation bench!