Railway Lands Murals - Ben Brumby

The second of two significant murals has been installed at The Rail.

Created by local artist Ben Brumby, the piece highlights his personal talent in the creation of high quality airbrush art.

Ben Brumby is well known to many people as a local sign writer and airbrush artist. His capacity extends from custom designs to photo realist portraits.

While much of his art has been in the automotive and motorcycle scene, Ben has been working on a variety of substrates from golf clubs to the large scale mural now displayed at the Railway Lands.

Ben annually works with and studies under world renowned Australian and International artists. He is passionate about the craft of painting and hopes this work will build greater recognition of the use of airbrush as a unique tool for artists.

Ben’s work is bold, edgy and different to anything seen already in Mount Gambier on a public scale. This significantly contributed to the selection panel’s support for his concept.

Throughout the development of the piece, as Ben’s initial concept has evolved, we now see that the old guitar has become a crucial feature in the work. The Guitar is a Barclay – the very guitar Ben’s Grandfather used to strum out old Jazz tunes and Country music over 4 decades ago. Ben describes him as having been ‘a true artist’, stating that music was crucial to him, like it is to so many people - music was both a release and a passion.

Ben’s painting represents the liberating effect music has upon many people. The bright colours which surround the semi-realist central figure (painted in black and white) represent the vibrancy and transportive effect of the music being played. Although the musician is almost faceless, he could be many people.

This is an important work, ambitious in scale, and subject matter. It celebrates people’s ability to be transported through music – no matter their circumstances. It is a tribute to the arts and announces there is something new going on in Mount Gambier, which is exactly what was sought.

For more detailed information about the creation of this mural, please see the FAQ's

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The Rail initiative of Council has concluded