How former Sheffield street artist's epic early work took him from pavements to penthouses
He got his start displaying canvases on street corners - now his work commands a price of £1,900 per square metre
When you step inside Mel Holmes’ art studio, you feel you are entering a fresco-full Italian church, or the sensuous boudoir of a noble contessa, writes Cheryl Galsworthy.
Guests are greeted by floor to ceiling images of plump-fleshed cherubs evocative of figures painted by Renaissance masters like Raphael.
Turn a corner, and there are more gigantic murals and Mel’s eye-catching depiction of The Apotheosis of Homer – which was one of his early canvases he “used to roll up and take on a tour of UK cities to showcase my work”.
The studio, in a small industrial pocket of Sheffield, is a world away from any ancient artefacts, but the 56-year-old artist lives and breathes European mural art, fresco painting and ‘marouflage’ that spans thousands of years from Greco-Roman walls to Renaissance masterpieces and modern interpretations.
Mel says: “I’ve always been interested in learning about the Ancient Greeks and the recent film The Odyssey got me searching for this specific ‘crowd pleaser’ which takes me back to my time as a struggling art student.
“The mural is 30 years-old and the colours are the same as when I painted them. There’s a bit of dirt and grit in there too, but this was all just picked up at the time when wind blew onto the canvas laid out on the pavement. It was a novel way of displaying my work so you could say I started out as an art busker.”
Back in the summer of 1990, when Mel had completed his first year of an art degree at the former Norwich School of Art, he had painted around 15 large scale murals to show his skills – painting directly onto canvas laid on the pavement and members of the public would throw money in his hat. In 1996, he decided to paint this three metre high by 4.5 metre wide mural.
He recalls: “I was reading Iliad at the time, and the orange and green women in the steps in the painting are personifications of 'Illiad' and 'The Odyssey,’ and ‘The Apotheosis of Homer’ was a famous painting with a crowd scene which I wanted to emulate.”
In 2007, Mel formed his own limited company, Mel Holmes Design Ltd, and his ‘marouflage’ murals involve hundreds of hours of painting onto large canvases, historical research and an analytical approach as to how the gigantic artworks could be installed into homes worldwide.
His murals have adorned the swimming-pool in Robbie Williams’s country home, the hallway of Sydmonton Court (residence of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber), and many walls and ceilings of beautiful houses worldwide.
Such is his attention to detail, it is Mel himself who rolls up the work, carefully seals it in protective packaging and flies with it by plane to far-flung places like Sri Lanka to install into the homes of owners who want “to go large with decorative decor” and ensure there is a talking point for their visitors.
Mel uses the 3,000 year old art technique of ‘marouflage,’ where a painted canvas, paper, or raw fabric is securely glued to a solid support without framing. However, new technology enables him to update clients with digital images and precise calculations throughout so there is a perfect fit when the work arrives at the client's home.
“Yes, I look at fine detail in my everyday job, but you have to see the bigger picture too for homeowners who are transforming the whole character of their room," explains Mel, whose prices for commissions start at £1,900 per square metre. His fees cover not just the artwork itself but historical research, drafts, and an attention to detail which Mel admits is "an intensive approach but definitely worth it for the results.”
Eagle-eyed admirers of his copy of The Apotheosis of Homer, which depicts Homer surrounded by poets, artists and philosophers), may spot two familiar characters on the far left of Mel's mural.
Apelles, dressed in a blue cloak, has been depicted as Captain James T. Kirk who is leading Raphael, depicted as Dr Leonard McCoy aka 'Bones'.
"The Star Trek characters were my own cultural references growing up!" says Mel.
“I spent 70 days working around seven hours a day to complete it - I would only consider selling it if the price is right!"