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The Derby Ram Trail 2021
Well it's certainly been a long time coming! Over two years in the planning and postponed due to a pandemic, this week finally saw the launch of The Derby Ram Trail. Brought to you by Derby Museums in partnership with Wild in Art, the trail consists of a flock of 30 giant ram sculptures located on the streets of Derby as a free outdoor art gallery.
I visited the trail over the beautiful, sunny bank holiday weekend.
VIP Launch
I've forgotten how exciting a public art trail can be. The press coverage, interviews, social media buzz, and selfie taking this week has been baa-rilliant! Like a lot of public art trails, there was a private preview event before the sculptures were positioned in location on the streets. This is where artists, sponsors and press get to see all the sculptures together in one location and it's all really quite exciting. It was so lovely to see all the beautiful designs and to introduce my sponsors to their finished rams. I also got to hang out with some of my artist friends who I haven't seen in a really long time.
I have painted two designs for this trail, 'Royal Ram' and 'Ram Gogh - Starry Night Over the Dales' and have produced time-lapse viseos of their creation which you can see below. To read more about the trail and download a trail map, head over to The Derby Ram Trail.
Royal Ram
Inspired by the decorative Royal Crown Derby pottery animal paperweights, this design features an Imari pattern painted in iron red and cobalt blue embellished with gold detailing to give it an elegantly regal feel. It took 7 days to paint as the gold required several layers to achieve the rich lustre which looks amazing in the sunshine.
Located on St Peters Street.
Sponsored by Hanson's Auctioneers and Wild in Art.
Ram Gogh - Starry Night Over the Dales
Inspired by Ram Gogh's painting 'The Starry Night', this design features a night scene of the Derbyshire Dales painted in a Post-Impressionist style. It depicts stunning scenery and the distinctive landscape of rolling hills, drystone walls and abandoned mill stones familiar to the area. This eye-catching and expressive design took only 3 days to paint.
Location outside Jury's Inn.
Sponsored by Smith Partnership.