Artist Interview: Elmer Trail artists

Since April, Elmers have decorated Blackpool's landscape, raising funds and awareness for Brian House! Elmer's Big Parade Blackpool has encouraged locals to become tourists in their own town and raise vital funds for Brian House, whilst boosting creativity and celebrating diversity. The trail features 30+ large Elmers and 30+ small Elmers which have been uniquely designed by artists, schools, youth groups and community groups. Through the app, the public is encouraged to collect the codes and follow the map, to collect the herd!

ARTdiscount is proud to have helped provide art materials to schools and artists to aid the creation and creativity in our own hometown! We had the pleasure of contacting a few artists involved and, asking a few questions, uncovering the process of mural art.

'Captain Coral' by Hanah Jayne Lewin, photo courtesy of ©David Bradbury

'I put my Elmers on little caster wheels which make them easy to move and turn around – it also looks like they are on roller skates which is super cute! '

Lucy Hebden

'I have found that emulsion works well for large areas, while acrylic is great for painting in the characters and details. On Captain Coral’s trunk I mixed a little bit of glitter with PVA glue and this made his trunk look like shimmery fish scales.'

Hannah Jayne Lewin

Q: First of all, congratulations on creating and being a part of the big art community project with the Elmers! We have loved seeing the art trail come to life in our hometown! How did you come up with the ideation and muse for your blank canvas?

Hannah:

I started by doing a lot of research and looked at the attractions and facilities Blackpool offers. The Blackpool Comedy Carpet inspired ‘Elaughant’, while ‘Captain Coral’ was inspired by pirates. I started by sketching out some rough ideas for both designs on an Elmer design template and then once I was happy with the composition of the different elements, I created the coloured design on my iPad. I was delighted that both of my designs were chosen by sponsors, and I got to paint them on the physical sculptures.

Lucy:

Thank you! I’m so excited to be part of Elmer’s Big Parade in Blackpool and so honoured that not one, but two, of my designs were commissioned. Edible Elmer was inspired by all the amazing treats and snacks families loves to enjoy when they visit Blackpool. It’s covered in ice cream, lollies, candy floss, slushies, milkshakes and my favourite… donuts! Shell-mer was inspired by the beautiful sea life around the North East Coast and is covered in decorative shells, sea plants, fish and bubbles!

Phillippa and Rachael:

Thank you! We both enjoyed working on our Elmer. We wanted to create a design that reflected the bright and cheerful character of Elmer and the vibrant town of Blackpool, so we decided to make Elmer into a colourful robot character complete with a shiny metallic overcoat, cogs, wheels and a host of Blackpool’s famous attractions from Blackpool Tower to Pleasure Beach. Our design also draws inspiration from the beautiful light displays from the Blackpool Illuminations, the Elmer features complementary colours placed in a patchwork effect, with pops of iridescent colours in between.

'E.L.M.E.R Bot' by Philippa and Rachael

'Elaughant' by Hannah Jayne Lewin

'Shell-mer' by Lucy Hebden

Q: Did you use a different medium than you would in your usual art practice for the creation of Elmer?

H:

I used acrylic and emulsion paint on my Elmers which is what I usually use for my mural and sculpture painting projects. I have found that emulsion works well for large areas, while acrylic is great for painting in the characters and details. On Captain Coral’s trunk I mixed a little bit of glitter with PVA glue and this made his trunk look like shimmery fish scales. In my work in other areas, such as children’s publishing and greetings cards, I usually use my iPad or Photoshop with scanned drawings and textures.

L:

I painted both Elmer’s with my usual process; 2 coats of emulsion paint for the base colour and then acrylic paint for all the details. I use lots of different brands so I can select lots of colours to mix. I also used lots of Posca paint pens on Shell-mer for the fine lines and details. This then required a coat of spray varnish to protect the pen before the final industrial varnish is applied.

P and R:

Our usual practice is illustration, depending on the project. We work in a variety of different mediums, but mostly we work using digital brushes, gouache paints and pencil crayons. For Elmer we used acrylics which give a good coverage as well as being durable and strong in pigment. We like using Daler Rowney and Liquitex acrylics, as they have a lovely selection of colours to choose from and look great under the varnish. We also used iridescent acrylics, which gave a lovely metallic sheen to our sculpture.

The making of 'Edible Elmer' by ©Lucy Hebden

Q: What was the biggest challenge of working at such a large scale?

H:

One of the biggest challenges I faced was getting the text in the right position on ‘Elaughant’. I used transfer paper to help me accurately position the words onto the sculptures. On a flat surface this would have been much easier, but on a curvy 3D Elmer, this had its challenges! It took a lot of patience, measuring and positioning to get the text neatly drawn onto the sculpture.

L:

Scaling up the design from a 2D piece of paper and getting it to fix nicely round a huge sculpture is always tricky! I put my Elmers on little caster wheels which makes them easy to move and turn around – it also looks like they are on rollerskates which is super cute!

P and R:

The Elmer sculpture was such a great shape to work on. We would say the biggest challenge was, as Elmer has a lot of curved edges, was getting our design to flow smoothly around the sculpture and work seamlessly across the whole sculpture. We masked areas of the sculpture using painters tape to create clean lines to achieve the patchwork effect.

The making of 'Elaughant' by ©Hannah Jayne Lewin

Q: Which materials aided your mural and would you do anything differently or change your process if you were to do it again?

H:

Transfer Paper was a big help in positioning the text on Elaughant. I particularly like Daler Rowney System 3 acrylic too as it has good coverage and comes in a great range of colours. If I was to paint another Elmer I would be careful not to design any fiddly details on the inside of his legs. It was very awkward to paint and I had to tip both Elmers on their sides to reach these awkward parts.

L:

A really good opaque acrylic is my first choice! Some lighter colours require several coats so I always check to see what the opacity rating is. I had a top tip from a fellow sculpture artist for this trail which was to turn Elmer upside down and paint his belly and legs first – this was a great idea as it gets really tricky to get underneath the sculpture to paint once all the detail has gone on.

P and R:

Having painted a few sculptures for public art trails previously, we have always enjoyed the experience of creating something on a larger scale and Elmer was no exception. For this particular sculpture, the gold acrylic (we used Liquitex heavy body Iridescent Bright Gold and Pebeo Iridescent acrylics) really set of the bright colours of the other acrylics nicely. For the finer details and line work on the sculpture, we used Posca pens: these are great for doing the tiny details. The white pen worked beautifully to create the shiny highlights. We hope to use these more in the future in our illustration work too.

The making of E.L.M.E.R Bot ©Philippa and Rachael

Q: Were you worried about the implications of the public (vandalism etc) and where do you hope your elmer will end up?

H:

It’s always so lovely when a trail launches and you see people’s response to your work. It’s nice to know that my work is bringing joy to people of all ages and backgrounds. I haven’t been partially concerned about vandalism, as most people are respectful of the work that has gone into the sculptures and their purpose to raise money for charity. I hope my Elmers will end up somewhere where they still get to be seen by the public. It would be nice to know that many years later they are still making lots of people smile.

L:

I have painted 13 sculptures for Wild In Art trails and only ever had one damaged  – so generally I think they are pretty well looked after and the public respect and look after them. They are such a lovely addition to communities and bring valuable revenue to local areas so people don’t want to see them damaged and generally discourage anyone they see climbing on them or not taking care of them. I would love to see my Elmers be placed somewhere public where people can still enjoy them once they are auctioned.

P and R:

On the most part, public sculpture trails have had a really positive reaction from the public. It's always a worry when your sculpture sustains damage, but the team at Brian House are very supportive and are on hand for any repair jobs, and they keep the sculptures looking their best. It’s always lovely to see so many people enjoying the sculpture trails and getting involved in the arts. We will be really pleased to see our Elmer go to its forever home, whether that be in Blackpool or further afield. We hope the Elmers raise lots of money for Brian House Children’s Charity.

'Elaughant' by Hanah Jayne Lewin, photo courtesy of ©David Bradbury

Q: Thank you for an insight into the creation of your Elmer! We would love to know if you have any future plans for more murals or where can we next see your artwork?

Hannah:

You are so welcome! I hope you have enjoyed hearing about my work. Over the summer I will be painting a mural at Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary! This outdoor mural includes lots of lovely animals and scenery so I’m looking forwards to painting that. You can also find my children’s books in bookshops and my greeting card designs with online retailers. You can see more of my work on my website: https://www.hannahjayneillustration.com/

©Hanah Jayne Lewin

Lucy:

I have 3 further sculptures going out on display later this year. An elephant for ‘March of the Elephants’ Tamworth, a penguin, for ‘Waddle of Worcester’ and an owl for the ‘Big Hoot’ Chichester & Arundel. You can see some of my past sculptures on my website www.lucylovesdesign.co.ukand see my new work as it appears around the country this summer on my Instagram @lucylovesdesign

©Lucylovesdesign

Phillippa and Rachael:

The next art trail that we have been involved in is the Shaun the Sheep trail in Kent, that takes place from the end of June, where we have painted three Shaun the Sheep Sculptures, which will be appearing on the trail along with 47 other Shauns. Each one is decorated by artists across the country. We have also painted a lighthouse for Southampton’s Light the South trail and two hares for Luton’s Short Tail trail. Both trails will be taking place this summer. Right now, we are working on illustrations for a children’s fiction book for Harper Colins US.

©Corcutt Collective

Would you like to own an Elmer? If so, why not come down to the farewell event on Saturday 22nd June at Blackpool Tower, where all the Elmers will be up for auction!

Find out more about Elmer's Big Blackpool Parade and their work for Brian House Children’s Hospice here: Website: elmerblackpool.co.uk Instagram: @elmerblackpool

Need your next art mural fix? Find your next art trail via: wildinart.co.uk

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