The Queen’s Arms is one of the most popular names for pubs in England, and Audenshaw in Greater Manchester is no exception.
So it would seem fitting that this should be the location for a lifelike and captivating portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
It seems crass to call it a mural, but its creator Scott Wilcock says it is just that. A work of art created in public, for the public to enjoy.
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“I call it a wall mural, that I’ve created with airbrushes,” he says.
“For the Platinum Jubilee I created seven portraits in towns across the country, and that was to mark a really joyous event.
“This is the first time I’ve been so emotional painting the Queen.
“It started like any other portrait, but hearing and reading tributes to the Queen as I was painting it, I realised how important she is to all of us.
“I hope this can be a fitting tribute that people will enjoy.”
General manager of the Queen’s Arms, Cara Campbell, says: “We are named after her and so we obviously felt we needed to do some kind of memorial for her.
“I think the local people here would be disappointed if we hadn’t. This has exceeded all our expectations. It’s perfect, and we’ll never get rid of it.”
For Scott, who is from Wigan, the portrait is also a tribute to his grandmother, Iris.
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Iris was born in the same year as the Queen, she married in the same year, and sadly passed away this year too, aged 96.
“All the time I was painting it, I thought of my nan,” says Scott.
“And all of the things she used to say about the royals, who she loved.”
But when I ask him if he plans to paint a similar mural for his nan, the answer is no.
“That,” he says, “would be just too emotional.”
