Part 1 of my personal guide to some of Glasgow’s murals covered mainly the East of the Merchant City area, for no other reason than it seemed like a good way to divide them up at the time. This second part covers the area to the West.
I’ve included some indication of each mural’s location as well as brief description of how to get from one to the next, but if you plan to visit the mural trail it’s easy enough to come up with your own itinerary. Typing ‘glasgow mural trail’ into Google Maps brings up most of the murals.
A wee bit about the artists themselves. I’ve only really scratched the surface, but there are so many talented people out there creating amazing and accessible pieces of art, not just in Glasgow but across the country. For example, Aberdeen now has a growing number of events and artworks by artists from around the world. SMUG, James Klinge, Scott Worst, and Rogue One may be the best known in Glasgow but there are many interesting artists based in the city and visiting from outside, who are less well known outside the street art scene. I feel more blog posts about this subject appearing in the future!
Dr. Connolly I Presume?
Back to Glasgow. Continuing on from Part 1, which ended at the Old Wynd, take a walk down Stockwell Street and onto Howard Street, then finally Dixon Street where the Hootenanny bar features the last of the three commemorative Billy Connolly murals on its gable end. This artwork was created by Rogue One and is based on a painting by artist Jack Vettriano from Billy’s World Tour of Scotland TV series made in 1994. If you can get hold of it, it’s an entertaining watch, with The Big Yin visiting cities, towns and places of historic or scenic interest around Scotland, interspersed with clips from his live stand up shows.
Billy’s Beer Garden is situated immediately below the giant mural, and I can’t help thinking it must have been a great attraction to the bar’s premises. This photo was taken a few years ago, but the drone shot in the gallery below was more recent and shows a slightly more weathered Billy. The painting is a still from an episode covering North East Scotland, featuring a windswept (“and interesting”!) Billy on a very windy day near John O’Groats as he talks to camera. I managed to find a clip from the episode, and you’ll see the moment Jack Vettriano used for his painting at 3m 40s.
The short video below shows Billy visiting Glasgow to see his murals.
Portrait Gallery
Walk back to Howard Street, West to Jamaica Street, then onto Midland Street, which runs underneath Glasgow Central Station. Here you’ll find some portraits created as part of the city’s mural trail by artist James Klinge, celebrating the Glasgow venue The Arches. “The idea behind the murals are people who have had an affiliation with The Arches in the past and or in its current status as Platform” the artist explained.
Further on you’ll see an unrelated but impressive mural highlighting youth homelessness. I’m not sure if it’s still present, and it’s not on the official mural trail website, but it is worth seeing.
This mural was commissioned by the charity Rock Trust and painted by artists Gaz Mac and Voyder in 2020.
The Swimmer
From Midland Street, there’s a 10-15 minute walk to the next pair of murals. Head South to Broomielaw, and walk West along the Clyde until you come to the Kingston Bridge. Under the bridge, you’ll see an impressive panoramic mural, celebrating Glasgow’s 2014 Commonwealth Games. This is another photorealistic artwork by SMUG.
Generation Green
The next mural is nearby, on the face of a substation building just across the busy road from ‘The Swimmer’. Titled ‘Generation Green’, it is a collaboration between artist SMUG and Scottish Power. The mural was created in the wake of COP26 in the city, and to promote a greener energy future for the next generation.
The imaginative scene depicts a child planting wind turbines in a Scottish landscape – planting a greener future. The windy landscape (see how the child’s scarf blows in the wind) features mountains, standing stones, and trees, with newly ‘planted’ turbines dotted around the scene.
I like this mural, proving that messaging can be engaging without feeling you’re being brow beaten. I also like the detail included – the child is wearing a World Wildlife Fund badge on his jacket!
Today We’re in Love Aren’t We?
From Generation Green, walk back along Broomilaw and head up Brown Street. About half way up you’ll see Today We’re in Love Aren’t We?, an unusual one, but interesting. The mural was created to celebrate 30 years of the city’s Doors Open Days Festival, and depicts the many and varied buildings within the city.
The mural was created by an all-female group of artists called Cobolt, and the words which feature are from the Liz Lochhead poem The Bargain, which offers an imaginative description of the city, “its big quick river wintry bridges, its brazen black Victorian heart.” The whole thing can be read below if you’re so inclined, otherwise keep walking to the top of Brown Street!
The Musician
It’s another 15 minute walk to the next mural. At the top of Brown Street, turn right onto Argyle Street, then left at Wellington Street. Walk as far as Sauchiehall Lane, where you’ll see this mural by Rogue One in collaboration with Art Pistol Projects.
The lane is very narrow so it’s difficult to get a sense of scale in a photo. It was a bit busy when I was there , so I decided not to put the drone up. The painting is a celebration of the local live music scene, and adds some interest to what is otherwise a fairly ordinary lane.
Bubbles
Walk down Hope Street, left onto West George Street, then right onto Renfield Street and look for Renfield Lane, where you’ll find Bubbles, created in 2019 but weathering very well.
This is another favourite with the public, and features two young girls playing with bubbles. On the facing wall a French Bulldog watches the girls and the bubbles floating around. The mural was created by Rogue One and Art Pistol.
Detail from the North wall
It was great being able to do both sides of this street. It was the idea of filling the full area that made me decide on the bubble theme and the girls are my friends daughters.
Rogue One
I love how the bubbles make shadows on the walls, and note the modified ‘No Parking’ sign!
Study of a Woman in Black 3
From Bubbles, walk along Gordon Street towards Royal Exchange Square. In a vennel opposite the Gallery of Modern Art, you’ll find this third study of a woman in black by James Klinge. Unfortunately, part of the mural had been painted over when I was there, but the photo below shows another very photo realistic painting, complementing the two studies by the same artist shown in Part 1.
Wind Power
Walking back along Gordon Street to the East, turn left onto Mitchell Street where the following trio of murals have been favourites with the public since they were created. The first you’ll see is another painting from 2014 by Rogue One and Art Pistol.
The petals blown by the woman’s breath transform into wind turbines, celebrating sustainable energy production in Glasgow and Scotland.
Honey… I Shrunk the Kids
Walk further down Mitchell Street and you’ll come to a huge mural on a gable end featuring a girl with a magnifying glass.
This is another mural by SMUG, taking up the entire four floor gable of the building. I got a few drone shots that hopefully give a sense of scale, and there are a few more photos in the gallery at the end of this post. I decided not to do the cliché of waiting for a passer by to make it look like she was picking them up, but one shot almost looks that way purely by accident.
The World’s Most Economical Taxi
At the bottom of Mitchell Street is the floating taxi, one of the most photographed murals in Glasgow. I love the fanciful nature of this painting. Note the artist’s name used on the number plate! Also, what may appear to be a brick wall has actually been painted brick by brick by Rogue One. Some of the weathering at the bottom of the mural gives the game away, but I love this – no brick wall? Simple, I’ll paint one for my background!
Shadow Hand Puppets
I’m not sure if Shadow Hand Puppets still exists, but it’s a series of paintings by Rogue One of hands making various animal shadows. It’s located in a busy underpass near Cowcaddens underground. At the time I visited a few years ago, there was a fair amount of graffiti covering some of the paintings, but was worth the visit.
Crazy Cat Lady
I love the cartoonish quality of this one, which is sadly no longer there. It was painted by Rogue One, and shows three cats, two playing, and another napping, at the feet of its owner as they walk by.
The very long mural (hence why I have two photos!) was located on Sauchiehall Street, on the site of the former Victoria’s night club.
That completes part 2, the gallery below contains some additional photos, and I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at these as much as I have. In the next post I’ll cover some of the amazing murals further outside the city centre.
