Artist goes to the wall to breathe fresh life into Invergordon
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
AN artist who has become almost as much of a visitor attraction as the famous Easter Ross murals she has breathed fresh life in to plans to return next year to finish the job.
Tracey Shough became a familiar sight to locals and visitors alike during her latest stint touching up some of Invergordon's giant gable-end works of art.
Amongst them was the Volunteer Spirit lifeboat mural by Ken White, credited with winning over many sceptics to the idea of a mural trail in the port town which holds the RNLI crew in high regard.
She joined members of the present-day lifeboat crew ahead of the unveiling of the revisited artwork, lovingly restored to its former glory after her painstaking work.
She said: "Being back in Invergorodn after a gap of 12 years has been great – and incredibly tiring! My knees are definitely feeling the burden of going up and down ladders and scaffolding.
I was reminded of how warm and welcoming Highlanders can be. I had to refuse many a cup of tea as I was so well catered for by local residents, shopkeepers and business owners. Everyone went out of their way to be kind.
"I also particularly enjoyed my conversations with tourists from all over the world. Many of them thanked me for my hard work and said how much they'd enjoyed seeing the murals - myself and the murals form the background to many a selfie from around the globe!"
The artist, who had the challenge of revisiting some pieces created by another muralist, paid tribute to the vision and determination of the Invergordon Off the Wall group which trailblazed the idea in the first place. She said: "Although I worked very hard it is important to note that without the continued efforts of the Rhinds, particularly Marion, the murals would fall into rack and ruin. Invergordon Off the Wall (IOTW) is really Marion Rhind who is project managing the restoration as well as being my personal welfare officer whilst I am working."
She added: "It was great to see the lifeboat up close. Shame I hadn't looked closer before the repaint of Ken White's mural as certain features would have been easier to define. I'm looking forward to getting the rest finished in April next year. My hopes are that once they are all looking great again the townspeople will take a renewed pride in their town and perhaps feel motivated to look after it a bit. A few shop fronts are looking so run down it makes the High Street look shoddy and litter! Street litter collects under the lifeboat mural and I was cleaning up daily, and each time I walked along the shore I gathered a carrier bag full."
Asked about the reaction of the RNLI crew to the mural, she said: "I'm afraid my time with the RNLI crew was very brief so not much to comment on there other than how great they look in those suits!"
Marion Rhind of IOTW said the restoration work had gone very well and seen a number of murals, amongst them The Long Goodbye recording the march of the Seaforth regiment from St Valery and also the lifeboat mural. She said: "It was not a surprise that this subject matter so close to the heart of the town was chosen as the first of the community group murals Originally painted by Ken White in collaboration with the local crew members of the RNLI at the time, this mural marked a turning point for IOTW. Kens success was to connect with the community and turned many cynics into followers and even fundraisers for the mural trail."
She said she was delighted to see them, "one by one come back to life, under the skilful curatorship of a very talented and original artist in her own right".
She added: "In our original funding application we were looking for the heritage lottery fund to enable us to 'portray the stories of the town both past and present that would sing out from our gable walls in glorious colour'. Yes we were a bit ambitious and really guilty of flowery language but it’s great to see them come back to life again."
