A graffiti artist has created an impressive mural of the Queen at a pub in Audenshaw named after Her Majesty.

Tributes of all kinds have been paid around the world to Queen Elizabeth II following her passing at Balmoral last Thursday (8 September) at the age of 96.

There is now a permanent memorial on a wall next to the outdoor seating area at the Queens Arms on Guide Lane to the UK’s longest-serving monarch, who reigned for over 70 years, with the message 'Thanks for everything ma'am'. 

It was designed and painted by Scott Wilcock, who works under the name Snow Graffiti. The idea stemmed from a painting of footballers which caught the eye of the pub’s landlord.

Customers will be able to see the mural in all its glory when sat outside at the Queens Arms. Image: Nigel Wood. 

“I painted some footballers in Prestwich last week and the owner of the pub lives around there and caught my phone number off my van,” Scott, 35, told the Tameside Reporter.

“He caught the number off my van and, after the sad news of the Queen’s passing, he rang me up as he thought they should have something on their wall to commemorate the Queen.

“It happened very quickly – a few hours later I was round there sketching! I don’t normally work weekends but I couldn’t turn down the opportunity as it was amazing. Me and my wife were chatting after the Queen had died about how nice it would be to be able to paint her and then the request came through.”

Feeling the pressure to get it right

Father-of-three Scott, who lives in Ashton-in-Makerfield in Wigan, used to be a mechanic but swapped a toolbox for a paintbrush during lockdown when he was put on furlough and hasn’t looked back.

“The first portrait commissioned was my gym which I did just as an experiment really. I never researched it, I just had a feeling that I could do it. It’s now a job for me and it’s an amazing job to have,” he said.

The mural of the Queen took around six hours to complete and, given the significance, Scott felt some pressure to ensure the piece was perfect.

The initial outline of the mural and the Queen's left eye completed. Image: Scott Wilcock.   

“I sketched the outline first and then started on the eyes,” he explained. “You can always tell with a portrait from the eyes. If you get the eyes wrong, you know the whole thing won’t look like the person it’s supposed to be so I spent a lot of time making sure to get the eyes right. The Queen was a beautiful person so getting that across in a painting is very difficult.

“I travelled across the country painting the Queen with snow spray during the Platinum Jubilee but that was very celebratory whereas this felt very different in the circumstances. As this was a permanent mural, I felt the pressure to make sure it was right and reflected Her Majesty.

“It took around four hours for the portrait and an extra couple of hours for the message and the finer details. Normally when I paint a portrait, I just look at the eyes, go on detail and take a step back to see the face – that’s the process of it. I don’t actually see what I’m painting, if that makes sense. I look at shading, shapes and lines and just copying it. But this was different, I kept seeing the Queen’s face and I think it was because of all the emotion behind it.”  

More of the Queen's face painted. Image: Scott Wilcock. 

'When I think of the Queen, I always think of my nan' 

Scott says the response from local people has been “amazing” and reflects the nation’s affection towards the Queen, which has evoked some personal memories for the artist.

“I started on her left eye and then her cheeks but from that point so many people came over to take pictures and talk to me about it,” he said. “Waggon drivers were pulling up just to get a selfie with it! People who lived around the corner said it was already appearing on Facebook even before I had finished.

“There was one woman who approached me who got very emotional watching the process as she loved the Queen. I felt how people loved her even just from listening to the radio hearing memories of her and everything she has done for the country.

“My nan was born in the same year as her and got married in the same year as her. My nan passed away earlier this year at the same age as the Queen so it brings all those emotions back for me.

“Most of the time when I spoke to my nan she talked about the Queen because she loved her so much. When I think of the Queen, I always think of all the stories my nan used to tell about her.”

The mural is outside the Queens Arms on Guide Lane. Image: Scott Wilcock. 

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