River Bench Art Trail | Artist Testimonials

For my bench project, I used Super Gild Gold for the base, along with a palette of Jubilee in colours: Gainsborough Blue, Rail Blue, Light Bronze Green, Oxford Blue, and Dover Chalk. My absolute favourite in the range is the Super Gild Gold, its coverage and shine are truly next to none, providing the perfect 'bright' base for my design. I found that the colours in the Jubilee collection mix effortlessly to create beautiful custom tones. The self-levelling qualities made the application process a joy, resulting in a professional, smooth finish. I particularly love that the colours are inspired by British heritage, which tied in perfectly with a project designed to highlight the history of our local rivers and nature.

My work is largely abstract and driven by feeling. I rarely begin with a rigid plan, preferring instead to let the colours, textures and medium guide the process as the piece develops. I've always had a particular love for gold, so when designing my bench for the Riverside Arts Trail, I was drawn to the history of the River Lea itself.

During the 19th century, the river experienced what has often been described as a golden age of leisure, and the name "Lea" is thought to derive from a Celtic word meaning "bright" or "light". I used gold as the foundation of the design as a nod to this heritage.

The bench is divided into two interconnected worlds. The lower section represents the flowing water of the river, while the backrest reflects the landscape and environment above it. To create the intricate patterns throughout the piece, I used a faux malachite technique, allowing the surface to echo both the rippling movement of the water and the natural grain of the trees that line the riverbanks.

Through this combination of abstract art and traditional decorative finishing, I wanted to celebrate the River Lea as a place of beauty, movement, history and connection.

I was really excited to use the Bleo paints, as this was a type of paint I hadn't used before. I used this as my background and loved the way the paint soaked into the wooden bench slats rather than sitting on top, which meant the wood grain didn't get lost even after applying 2-3 coats to achieve the depth of colour I wanted. The paints were also easy to blend, which meant a seamless change of seasons across the bench could be created.

The jubilee paint colours available could be mixed easily to create the natural colour palette required for my riverbank Water vole design. Although some colours had quite a thick consistency, they thinned down nicely with a little water without losing the depth of colour and could be used to create small details with a fine brush. They gave good coverage, layered well and could be applied over the top of the Bleo base I had already painted. It also dried relatively quickly, which meant smudging was minimal when working details across large areas, and I didn't have to wait long between layers. The silver gilding was great for adding that extra detail to the winter section, adding that extra shine to the frosty environment.

My bench is divided into four illustrative sections, telling the story of the Water vole through the changing seasons, from the first pups born in spring to the time they spend underground in torpor during winter. I have also included the main indicators used when surveying for Water voles, including latrines (their distinctive tic-tac shaped droppings) and feeding signs, such as piles of grasses cut at a 45° angle. Alongside the Water vole, I have featured several other protected river and canal species that share their habitat, including the White-clawed crayfish, the European eel and the Bullhead.

Guild Lane Jubilee paints applied well, with great opacity and highly saturated colours. They mixed well for my bench project and would recommend them to anyone looking for furniture and project paint.

My bench was inspired by many walks along the riverside. I always look out for herons, they're majestic creatures that always make me feel amazed to live so close to such beautiful wildlife. I'm a disabled artist and parent, and benches function as accessibility to me, allowing me to pace myself and access nature. With my young children often in tow, I value a rest space that engages children too and encourages them to stop and pause with me. I wanted my bench to be fun and bright, engaging and detailed enough to interest both adults and children alike.

Pretty much every colour you see on my bench was made up by mixing at least 2 Jubilee paints by Guild Lane together. I loved how they blended to create some fantastic, vibrant colours.

Painting on black for me was quite daunting, but with a layer of white jubilee paint underneath, really made the colours pop!

I have to say these are the best acrylic paints I have come across; they complement my design beautifully.

The design for my bench grew from a mural I painted on a playground wall at the school where I once worked. I painted flowers, big, bright, joyful flowers to represent the growth of the children, connected to the cartoon-like styles and artists we explored in our art lessons. When the school closed in July, the mural was lost, and saying goodbye to it felt like losing a little piece of my heart. So when the opportunity to paint a bench appeared, I knew instantly what I wanted to bring back. Seeing those bold flowers bloom again, in a new place, fills me with happiness.

As my bench had some gorgeous grain, I used the Bleo range to stain the slats in a gradient. It gave a lovely, even coverage. All the insects were painted using the Jubilee range.

I enjoyed the coverage the pigments had, and it was great to be able to build up the bold colours I needed. The range of colours worked very well together. My subjects required quite specific hues, and I am used to mixing all my colours from scratch. In relation to each other, the colours in the range had a good range of intensity that allowed me to mix a good spectrum of natural and higher chroma colours.

Texturally, the paints resulted in a great surface and layered well. Their consistency from the pot was very satisfying to use compared to acrylic out of the tube, and I found them very pleasant for applying fine detail. The speedy drying time really lent itself to creating layers of detail and colour.

My idea was born out of my interest in the local insects and their worlds. I thought it would be great to celebrate biodiversity and the hard work the little guys do behind the scenes. The more I looked at insects in the area, the more I became convinced that they were stunning subjects, each a gem of colour and pattern.

I planned my bench to allow for each insect to be larger than life, so people could really inspect their beauty in detail without a microscope. I wanted each to pop, like a sticker or photo to the viewer.

The poem was written by me as a riddle from the insects themselves that would lead to people looking behind the bench to find two secret moths on the back.

I designed the bench to have a translucent, minimal background to allow for the poem and insects to take centre stage while adding colour and depth to the design. Therefore, I used both the Bleo and the Jubilee range to achieve the full range of opacity I required.

The paints were lovely to work with, with strong pigmentation and a consistency that made both base coats and finer brushwork feel very manageable. What I particularly enjoyed was how effective the different tones were in creating depth without needing bright colour. The paints layered beautifully and allowed me to build the bench gradually, much like creating a Zentangle pattern one stroke at a time.

My bench is inspired by the Zentangle Method, a mindful and accessible form of abstract art created through drawing structured patterns one line at a time. It is designed to be relaxing, creative and easy for anyone to enjoy, regardless of artistic experience, making it the perfect inspiration for a public bench that encourages people to pause and appreciate the space around them.

I used an array of colours from the Guild Lane collection. Two Bleo colours for the base coat — River Blue for the river and Siren Green for the swimming pool. Perfect colours for that.

I then used a selection of Jubilee colours for the swimmers, boats, ducks and trees. All the colours worked really well together, and it was nice to get a really colourful image. I also mixed a lot of the colours to get lots of different skin tones and variations in tone. The paints were really easy to mix, and I was able to get a fine line for the lettering.

My idea was born out of the bench slats themselves that seemed to lend themselves to swimming lanes. The Ware Lido is on the river, and you can swim there all year round for cold water swimming in the winter or summer fun days with the kids. To me it seemed to marry with the river and all the activities on the river, such as canoeing, paddle boarding, boating and walking — all seemed to work with the slats too. So I did one half swimmers from the Lido and the other half river activities.

I want to encourage outdoor activities, family outings or sitting and watching the river go by with a friend. I found that I noticed the river much more, got to know all the wildlife and realised it is a hub of human and wild activity. The bench is a great place to sit and watch it all.

My bench celebrates the colourful variety of riverside wildlife through bright colours and folk art traditions. Using the Guild Lane Jubilee paint range has been a wonderful opportunity to work with clean, vibrant tones straight from the jars, repeating colours across the bench while maintaining a cohesive palette throughout.

The paints' excellent coverage has allowed me to achieve a bold, saturated finish that does exactly what I hoped it would: celebrate the joy, energy, and beauty that riverside wildlife brings to our shared spaces.

My bench illustrates British riverside flora and fauna throughout the course of a day, from dawn to late night. Flowers bloom in the sunshine, ducks glide through the water in the warmth of the day, while moths and bats fill the air after dusk. As our vision becomes limited in the darkness, the final slat, representing the night, becomes a canvas for imagination, dreams, and all those creatures that perhaps no one has seen... yet.

This was my first experience of using these paints, as I'm an oil painter on linen canvas in my usual work. I was a bit apprehensive at first, but was pleasantly surprised at how easy they were to use on the wooden bench slats I was painting on. The paints mixed well, and I was quickly able to adapt to create a style that I was happy represented my lifelike wildlife paintings. Overall, it was a pleasure to paint my Arts Trail Bench using the Jubilee paints.

Much of my work explores the relationship between people and animals, particularly those we encounter in everyday life but often pass by without fully noticing. Whether I am painting a beloved pet or a wild animal, my aim is always to portray the subject as an individual, with its own character, presence and perspective. Through my work, I hope to encourage people to see wild animals not as distant or anonymous, but as beings worthy of the same attention, connection and protection we naturally give to the animals we share our homes with.

For the Riverside Arts Trail, I wanted to bring that idea into a public space. My bench features three of the remarkable predators that can be found along our riversides — the Fox, Red Kite and Owl. The design reveals itself across the bench slats as you move past or sit down, creating a sense of discovery. In this way, the bench acts as a reminder of what might be seen in the surrounding landscape if we simply slow down, pay attention and take the time to look.

I started with the Bleo, using two colours — River Blue and Emerald Green. I used a sponge to get the effect I wanted with some water, so it looked like water. It created a wonderful stain onto the 400-year-old oak floorboards, leaving the natural wood to shine through. It looks like ripples in the water, which I wanted to achieve.

I added a white on top of the Bleo so my colours would pop to add my details. The Gold GILD is the best gold paint I have ever used, because you can get a strong, vibrant colour or water it down to get a shimmer, which I have used in the water. The paints are easy to use and mix if needed.

My bench design draws directly from both these experiences and my childhood. As a child, I would cycle through the countryside with my sketchpad, drawing birds and immersing myself in nature, while also being captivated by the Flower Fairies books and their magical illustrations by Cicely Mary Barker. These early influences continue to shape my work and are central to this piece.

The slatted bench top features a painted river scene with a kingfisher and the Ruddy Darter dragonfly, both native to this stretch of the river. The surrounding tree stump forms have been transformed into small, handcrafted clay fairy houses, with hidden details that invite discovery. I hope the piece encourages people to pause, look closely, and connect with the environment.