00:00How are you doing Sean?
00:02I'm doing well actually.
00:04Yes, fine thanks.
00:06The last couple of years
00:08have been a bit of a down with surgery
00:10but yes, I'm doing well now, thank you.
00:12Everything seems to be ok.
00:14So, art has been your salvation?
00:16It certainly has since retirement.
00:18Obviously with the Covid period too
00:20it's enabled me to spend a bit more time
00:22on my passion.
00:24Well, fantastic workshop.
00:26It looks great.
00:28Here outside Bishop Percy's Tea Room
00:30in Bridge North.
00:32The accent does deceive
00:34but you're a Shropshire man now, living in Highley for many years.
00:36Yes, for the last 30 odd years.
00:38How long have you been doing your art then?
00:40Well, I went to Bourneville School of Art
00:42in 1968-69.
00:44That's a basketball in Bourneville.
00:46And ever since then
00:48I've done little bits and dabs
00:50but now since I've retired
00:52I've found the time to do it all.
00:54It's been absolutely fantastic.
00:56I've thoroughly enjoyed it.
00:58So, you've got a smashing exhibition up here at the minute
01:00and it's on until mid-September.
01:02So, a bit of time for people to catch it still.
01:04That's right, yes.
01:06We're giving the game away here a little bit.
01:08We've got the magnificent Bridge North Town Hall here
01:10and Bishop Percy's itself.
01:12What can people expect
01:14from the exhibition?
01:16A bit of black and white, a bit of colour?
01:18Yes, well, you know,
01:20it's nearly all structures to be honest.
01:22You know, I sort of confessed
01:24that I'm more inclined to do structures.
01:26However,
01:28yes, a bit of colour, mixing a bit of colour.
01:30I appreciate people want a bit of colour
01:32but having said that, I think black and white
01:34sometimes can blend in easy in most areas,
01:36most sort of places.
01:38And a lot of Shropshire
01:40scenes, a lot of local scenes
01:42so people will enjoy kind of saying
01:44I recognise that.
01:46When you've got Shropshire on your doorstep, it's a gorgeous
01:48place to...
01:50Exactly, exactly.
01:52River alone, the River Severn alone
01:54and everything that's in town with that, you know.
01:56But Bridge North Town is a beautiful place.
01:58Some really historical
02:00buildings, properties.
02:02Ideal really for my type of work.
02:04Yeah, with that kind of graphic.
02:06Yeah, which I'm going to probably pursue a little bit more
02:08to be honest.
02:10Other favourite halls of you to draw?
02:12Well, we spend
02:14quite a bit of time in Wales, both south
02:16and north Wales, so I tend to do
02:18you know, sort of farm buildings
02:20and stuff like that, you know, with the backdrop
02:22of the beautiful countryside.
02:24But yeah, I think I'm sort of
02:26widening my variety somewhat.
02:28And this
02:30exhibition, there's a bit more behind it
02:32isn't there? There's kind of a new committee
02:34that's been formed. Just fill us in on that a bit Sean.
02:36Yeah, well it is.
02:38Elle Riley from
02:40Jonk Jai
02:42Designs
02:44has formulated,
02:46it's very much in its initiative, but
02:48formulated a committee
02:50of some eight to ten people
02:52where we're trying to find local
02:54venues and outlets for amateur
02:56artists to display some of their work.
02:58And as I say, it's very much in its infancy
03:00but fair play to Elle.
03:02With the kindness of Marie here
03:04at Bishop
03:06Percy's, has sort of
03:08set us on our mission.
03:10And is that particularly around the Bridge North area then?
03:12Yes, it's very much
03:14for local because Bridge North
03:16hasn't got a gallery so I think that's
03:18the plan is to sort of get
03:20areas where local
03:22amateur artists can get the work out there.
03:24You know what? It's not until you've literally
03:26just pointed that out to me that it hasn't got
03:28a gallery, you think, you know what?
03:30It hasn't has it?
03:32That seems kind of crazy now you've pointed that out.
03:34You know what I mean? Well it is crazy
03:36when you consider the history
03:38of this place. It's incredible really.
03:40But yeah, so that's
03:42the plan anyway. So the plan is to
03:44basically make the town become the gallery
03:46itself and just open up those
03:48spaces. Exactly.
03:50Well fantastic. Shaun, any particular
03:52favourite image in the exhibition?
03:54Well I've always
03:56loved the
03:58Bridge North town.
04:00It means a lot to me because it was one of my
04:02first. Ah, fantastic.
04:04It just lends itself to black and white doesn't it?
04:06I think so, I think so.
04:08I think sometimes if you put too much in you
04:10can take the emphasis off the building itself.
04:12Yeah, and we'll just educate
04:14people. Go on, just tell them
04:16the little story about, it was a barn originally
04:18somewhere else wasn't it? Yes it was a barn
04:20originally and basically
04:22it was moved
04:24to Bridge North but they kept the top
04:26the bottom open for markets
04:28and stuff and they built the building on the top.
04:30So wow, they basically put some stilts on
04:32and stuck a barn on top. Absolutely yeah.
04:34Crazy. Brilliant.
04:36Well thanks ever so much Shaun and we look forward
04:38to seeing more of your work in future
04:40on Bridge North. Lovely, thanks very much
04:42Dave.
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