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.
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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.