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Frank Harwood Murals
MURALS PAINTED BY ARTIST FRANK HARWOOD WITH THORNDOWN WOOD PAINTS
The Glastonbury Mural Trail was created in 2019 in a collaborative effort between the Town Council, Chamber of Commerce and local artist Kim von Coels. It now has over 50 murals in it and is a great way to explore the town and celebrate some of the local artists.
We have supplied wood paint to a number of the murals, including these amazing creations by Frank Harwood.
PINK RHINO
Frank’s latest mural to join the Glastonbury Mural Trail is an incredible pink rhino, painted on the side wall of the Crystals shop on the corner of Glastonbury High Street and Church Lane.
The rhino is based on the woodcut made by German Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer in 1515. He had never seen a rhino and constructed the image from descriptions and a sketch, making a surprisingly lifelike representation bar the unicorn horn on its neck!
Frank painstakingly recreated all of the fine details of scales and armour-like skin from Durer’s image, painting this fantastical animal in vivid pinks and purple, with an illuminating border that makes it want to leap out of the wall and charge down the High Street. Frank’s warm and humourful image is another triumph and we’re a bit in love with it 💕
ADAM & EVE
Having used our wood paint before, Frank wanted to paint with it again due to its durability and strength of colour pigments.
He has created the most amazing mural brimming with decorative details, definitely worth a visit to view. The size of it was a challenge on its own, requiring a scaffolding tower to enable Frank to reach right up to the roof of this gable wall.
His attention to detail and story-telling is quite breathtaking and his forms full of life and humour. You could never get bored of exploring this mural.
WAVING WOMAN MURAL
If you travel into Glastonbury on the A361 from the direction of Pilton and the Glastonbury Festival site, you will be welcomed by a beautifully cheery woman waving. This colourful mural stands on the side of a house opposite the sacred Chalice Well at the foot of Glastonbury Tor.
Designed and painted by artist Frank Harwood for owners Brad and Sharon, the mural was painted with Thorndown Wood Paints and is another addition to the Glastonbury Mural Trail. Frank developed the design to be welcoming and to reflect the feminine nature of the town, especially the High Street, and wanted it to be in contrast to goddess designs.
Using inspiration from figurative Staffordshire pottery designs, Frank developed a design of a rural shepherdess figure and worked with a papiermache model to get the pose right. He wanted to make reference to the classical poses of strong warrior women, but tempered with the idea of fruitfulness and bounty.
Frank contacted us and we worked with him to supply him with the wood paints for his palette. Frank says of Thorndown;
“I was very impressed by your paints, which performed brilliantly. The flow was excellent, with no drips or runs, and no drag, a fine balance. The fact that I could get the full RAL range meant that I could build a working artists palette of strong, vibrant primary colours, and with the addition of a little white, get solid colours with excellent obliteration. Drying time was excellent, and I particularly liked the low sheen finish. I understand the paints were originally formulated for wood, but the performance on cement render has been excellent.”
We are delighted to be part of another iconic piece of Glastonbury mural art in the town that we love!
