Bishop Percy's Tea Room in Bridgnorth, currently exhibiting artwork including that by local man: Sean Drumm.

Shropshire Star

Sean Drumm has returned to his love of art later in life and is currently exhibiting his work in Bridgnorth's Bishop Percy Tea Room. It features many Shropshire scenes and can be seen up until around mid September.

Transcript

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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