Life size Celtic tiger… centre piece for the Irish nostalgia mural growing in the staircase at the brand new Malones Leith, Constitution st.
Fuelled by chicken fillet baguettes and armed with a large wooden spoon, he’s not one to be messed with!! #tiger #celtictiger #animal #projects #commercial #ireland
Loving working with @malones_leith on this new staircase mural for their venue, opening on Saturday.
So far it’s some old favourites from
father Ted and new favourites from the Derry Girls
The whole place looks amazing.!! #fatherted #fatherjack #mrsdoyle #derrygirls #commercial #projects #artwork
After the congestion of the celidh scene in Mackays, I felt the mural really needed a clean central figure. I wanted the bar to feel like it pulsed to the beat, and I love to paint music into a mural, it adds to the energy and makes it wriggle with life.
The bodhran player here is modelled by George Rendall, a cousin of mine and lead singer of the fabulous scottish bluegrass band the ‘Turkey Smokers’, delighted to make them a fixture on the royal mile.
They are at the top of the celidh, setting the tone.
The first time we collaborated was when I painted Tam O Shanter a decade ago. They recorded a musical version and George posed as Tam for the mural.
I love that this has come full circle a decade later.
The Turkey smokers do a fabulous set at the Ensign Ewart at the top of the Royal Mile every Thursday eve. Book a table for a great night
@#bodhran #scottishmusic #commercial #scottish #projects
Loved painting this mural for new venue that’s just opened, ‘Mackays on the Mile’ (in Edinburgh old Town.)
Very much inspired by the Devils celidh in Tam o shanter, a mixture of booze , magic , music and wild crazy dancing !
I tried to make every corner full of adventure and a feast for the eyes!
#scottish #scottishdancing #celidh #commercial #artwork #project
@scranbistro up at North Bridge Arcade is looking really pretty this year fabulous christmas decor.
I particularly like this new fun ‘head through’ posing board I’ve painted.
Hoping to see some funny shots from it before the silly season is over!
We are aiming for a fun place to be in Edinburgh over Christmas, but with a less frantic vibe than the main christmas market.
It feels like an oasis from the mayhem. @scrannewtown #christmas #santa #commercial #community
Back at the Oz Bar today hanging this fab new white pointer shark character, to complete the whole facade beside all the other animals.
He seems to have a Tasmanian devil hidden under his hat, but doesn’t really look that fazed tbh!
Delighted that after a brutal flood over a year ago Ian and the team will be back and opening again next week!! That’s the festive season rescued
Can’t wait to get back on that pool table and sample their delicious aussie ales once again🐨🍺🎱#chrisrutterford #aussie #aussiesofinstagram #ozbar #greatwhiteshark #crocodile #commercial
Great week this week working in beautiful Peebles @kailziebiglodge painting a stairwell into a mountain biking and nature themed mural for their new upmarket bunkhouse. The basic idea was that when the humans leave, the animals don their helmets and start pedalling.
I was brought on board the project by @claryallaninteriorsolutions who are doing a fabulous job down there.#mountainbiking #mountainbike #bigair #peebles #nature #woodland #deer #angel #bikers #bikersofinstagram #forestmagic #forestpainting #stairwaytoheaven #stairwaymural #mural #landscapes #commercial #artwork #animals
Family day at Boroughmuir Rugby today - Made them a bear family as a photo- op on the terrace.
The weather is just perfect today, sure they’ll have a ball.
Nice to see my daddy bear again too. He is in a prime spot inside , propping up the bar. #commercial #animals #bears #boroughmuirbears #boroughmuirrfc
The Jolly Beggars -.. Another illustration for the Robert Burns chess board booklet.
The poem takes place on a drunken night of debauchery in an inn and focuses around a series of characters who take it in turns to speak.
A maimed soldier turned beggar, his lover doxy a buxom female pickpocket, a pigmy fiddler and a tinker - all on a wild night of drinking.
This was a lot of fun to paint- the main thing was to make sure it felt like the characters had sunk a shandy or two!
One of Burns more controversial masterpieces due to its strong social commentary. It was only published after his death #robertburns #thejollybeggars #chrisrutterford #commercial #historical #artwork #scottishpub #fiddleplayer
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great Chieftain o’ the Puddin-race!
https://robertburnschessset.com
Working with the creators of a luxury Rabbie Burns Chess set at the moment - they’re using some paintings from my archive but also some new work
Including this Address to the Haggis illustration.
This chaps is obviously from the Ronald Macdonald school of oration!
#robertburns #haggis #taeahaggis #scotland #burnssupper #commercial #artwork #projects #
New feature wall for Malones Edinburgh based around their new Triple Cask Irish Whiskey.
The Celtic deer and intricate woodland scene is core to their brand .
I painted the deer in this malty orange palette as though it has a fire in its belly.
Like it’s just knocked back a large dram and is eyeing up another.
It was really fun to paint something full of detail and interest but also really clean and legible.
Interested to see if whiskey sales rise in the bar over the weekend … I’d be powerless to resist this 😂 #malonesedinburgh #irishwhiskey #celticdeer #commercial #animals #artwork
This mural is pretty much complete now - I think my favourite bit is the otter French kissing a trout in the wetland section.
It’s been really magical being on site at RSPB Loch Leven as thousands of pink footed geese arrived. Coincidentally at the exact same time as I painted the goose in my mural- he acted as a herald ! #artwork #commercial #projects
Absolutely buzzing that Teuchters on William St in Edinburgh West End reopened their doors today. One of best and the most genuine bars in Edinburgh, renowned as a purveyor of the finest whisky, beer, Scottish hospitality and banter. It’s a sure fire hit for an authentic Scottish night on the town.
Peter and John commissioned me a few years ago to add vista and atmosphere to their basement and I built this mural on-site over the Christmas period a few years back. We struck on the idea of a Scottish nostalgia cafe/bar lining the walls. Portraits of Scottish celebs and notables line the wall against the backdrop of a 40ft Old Town Edinburgh Skyline. Stretching all the way from Cockburn St to the Castle. Peter and John had lots of ideas but they also let me take a trip through the favourite celebs of my youth. Young Billy Connelly, Ricki Fulton and Supergran feature visibly.
It was painted whilst Trainspotting 2 was being filmed in Edinburgh, so there is an entire table dedicated to the gang, that’s not all though, Tilda Swindon, Sean Connery, Lulu and even Susan Boyle feature in a table full of Scottish rock chicks and of course the Proclaimers and Rod Stewart.
Locals from the bar had their portraits painted in too. I like to keep you guessing as to who’s a celeb and who is sat right next to you on a bar stool, all part of the fun.
It’s a big rugby pub too so Peter also insisted on a Bill Mclaran and the Hastings brothers as well as his dream Scottish rugby team in the alcove.
The staff in the bar made me feel like part of the family while I put the long hours in painting this labour of love. I was kindly invited to their Xmas night out that year and they nearly broke me by forcing me to drink delicious whisky and show off my pole dancing skills.
This mural was originally part of the restaurant downstairs but they have reinvented due to COVID, you can visit it freely now for the cost of a few ales in the basements new incarnation as ‘the Bunker’.
Can’t wait to see you there! #crowds #scottishcelebrity #commercial #billyconnolly #trainspotting
Delighted to see the @ozbar is open again and pulling the pints.
Get yourself down there for genuine Aussie beers, Scottish whisky and awesome banter.
A fantastic pub and a true fixture on the Edinburgh pub circuit. Full of character. I’d been drinking and playing pool there for years before Ian asked me to add a bit of artistic flare to the establishment.
He’s got a great sense of humour so I was given free rein to have fun, which is always a joy for an illustrator. Not least in the toilets where I was allowed to paint a wrap around tiger snake above the urinal biting the men on the pecker and an eight foot funnel web above the throne to help make you regular.
I also painted an Aussie themed homage to the classic ‘dogs playing pool’ painting, and on the ceiling a massive shark v crocodile battle.
Last year just after lockdown one @LubiLykan and I returned to paint a new frontage, replete with Australian animals and a new aboriginal themed banner.
If you are in the Grassmarket this is a destination venue! #ozbar #chrisrutterford #commercial #australia #crocodile #koala #spiders #edinburghpubs #ostrich #emu #aboriginal #candlemakerrowedinburgh
This was one of my favourite ever commissions. A Father Ted mega mix on the stairs at @MalonesEdinburgh. They are opening up for indoor table bookings now - tables available from 17th.
I was SO excited, a joy to paint something you truest love😀
Done through the night over a fortnight whilst the pub was being fitted out for launch
My favourite part was getting to paint Father Jack.
He’s parked in pride of place right outside the ladies toilets. Couldn’t think of a more appropriate retirement for the old rogue!! #fatherted #malonesedinburgh #commercial #artwork #fatherjack #grahamnorton
The big launch on Sunday was for the latest incarnation of the Edinburgh icon - the Kyloe Restaurant cow in time for the beer gardens opening and the hospitality industry starting to stir back to life.
This time we themed it round Hope and rebirth,.
Designed and made with my partner Lubi Lykan Couture & Embroidery to be a joyful, optimistic and full of fun. Recognising how we’ve all changed, but in the fervent hope that the good times and all the times we’ve maybe taken for granted in the past will be back soon.
The cow has an overall rainbow coat in keeping with the time but has purple tartan legs, the traditional colour of mourning.
Recognition of what’s happening and what we’ve all been through.
It’s festooned with smaller illustrations, nostalgic selfies of the cow with his friends in bygone times. Reminiscence of all the events that used to be seasonal fixtures for us all and that we missed so much in the last year and a half.
The busking in the Edinburgh festival, drinking with his friends, going to the rugby at Murray field, shopping, going to gigs, snogging at Hogmanay, birthday parties, shopping for pants with your friends
It’s the stuff of life. she’s outside The Huxley now! #huxley #kyloerestaurant #chrisrutterford #kyloecow #rainbow #lubilykan #commercial #animals#artwork
Malones Glasgow had a wall around their serving hatch at the kitchen which was covered in small pictures. They really wanted to make it a feature that added fun and tied the bar together.
The pub historically was a halfway house, with horses downstairs and accommodation for trades upstairs so decided that painting a large scale version version of the much loved and iconic ‘Guinness for strength’ illustration would be perfect.
I absolutely love these pictures, from the Golden age of illustration. I painted a tribute to them all for the Edinburgh branch a few years ago with a mix of all the adverts. These classics instantly look like they have always been there.
This works particularly well I think with the life size horse blending in with the real cart behind it too.
Sharon the Malones chef was cock-a- hoop that her home from home was transformed and looking so pretty. She can’t wait to get back in harness and cook up a storm.
Best of luck to all at Malones in both Edinburgh and Glasgow tomorrow more power to your pint pulling elbow.
We have missed your craic! #chrisrutterford #commercial #animals
I can confirm, the pubs are buzzing to be opening again on Monday and behind closed doors there is a fever of activity to make it perfect.
Lubi and I were in Glasgow at Malones and were asked to change the lettering at the back of the stage.
The stage backdrop I did for their Edinburgh branch a few years ago has become iconic for the venue so .... ‘more of the same please but with a Glasgow twist’
It’s made a huge difference to the bar, the Gold sat back into the wall but now you definitely know where you are! Can’t wait to see the first band kick off in here, the place will be jumping.
Rona as ever was principally on site in a managerial capacity.#commercial #malones
Fresh signage for the Papa Westray Market Garden. Designed to be cheery and motivational particularly at this time of the year when life is sprouting. It’s the promise of things to come.
I took time out to do this for a few days and there was a joyful moment there when my studio felt just like the fresh foods isle in supermarket!
Of course I was eating hobnob biscuits and treacle toffees. But it all LOOKED healthy. #commercial# #artwork #garden #signage
