Anna Wheelhouse is one of Nottingham’s most well-known street artists, with her signature, verdant nature-themed murals enlivening buildings and walls around the city, from pubs to parks to back gardens. We talked to her about her lifelong passion for the arts, and the benefits of working on a larger canvas.
Hi Anna, how did you become an artist?
Ever since I was young, I was always drawing, painting and making things but I didn't want to go into an art career because my parents told me it wouldn’t make any money, so I went and studied social work, but I didn't like it.
I was 29 when I decided to stop pursuing social care, go back to university, and do an art degree. My friends, Smallkid in particular, kept saying to me, “you need to paint bigger,” and I was always like, “no, no, no.” And then when I finished my degree, Nathan [Smallkid] took me to go and work in Kingsmill Hospital and did my first ever big community mural with him. Then, I became a community artist, and I was doing workshops everywhere.
But then when COVID hit you couldn't do any freelance artwork in schools, which is what I was specialising in. I started painting my friends’ walls because I was bored, and then it just took off. I’ve been really lucky that it’s blown up, and I’ve done six years full-time. I just think it’s who I am, art.
I liken it to giving birth. Sometimes you’re thinking, ‘I haven’t got this, this is really bad,’ it’s really stressful, and there’s a pain in creating a mural. But then once it’s finished, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, that was amazing. I want to do it again,’ and then you do it again
What does the process of creating a mural look like?
I liken it to giving birth. Sometimes you’re thinking, ‘I haven’t got this, this is really bad.’ It’s really stressful, and there’s a pain in creating a mural. But then once it’s finished, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, that was amazing. I want to do it again,’ and then you do it again.
Usually, a client will contact me, and then I’ll do a series of mock-ups for them to choose what they like. Then, I’ll superimpose the image onto the wall for them, so they can see what it looks like. I generally work from photographs because I do a lot of nature stuff. If it’s not nature stuff then I’ll draw it on my iPad and send it to them.
When you start painting, the most important thing is your base, because if you mess that up the whole thing will peel off and you’ll end up with a patchwork mural. I did a project in Kimberley where I spent an entire week painting a building black, and the render was so far in that I had to go around every single brick – it was a massive building. It involves lots and lots of layering, and I use quite a few stencils, which I cut myself at home, to get the intricate plant details; often with nature ones you find they don’t come out exactly how they were in the mock-up, because it depends on the space.
Do you have a favourite project?
Not particularly, but the bookcase in Beeston was fun because it’s my biggest one yet. It’s three stories and I couldn’t even tell you how many metres the front of it is. Every single book spine has got something Nottingham-related on it. It’s also got lots of people’s names on it: people who have died or people who were monumental in Nottingham. That was great because it was looking at the local people, and then putting it on the wall.
I think the thing that I really do enjoy is the community work. During one I did in Lenton, local children spent the entire time with me while I painted it – they were in my car picking out colours for me; it made it an interactive, community thing. I think when you can see the difference it makes to the environment that it’s in, you go ‘that was really worth it.’
Are there any health and safety risks?
Yeah, I’ve had to learn not to rush things. I ran an art studio called Bentinck Art Studios, and I had a team of girls who would come and help me paint the masonry. On the very last day I thought, ‘I’m not going to take anyone with me, I’m going to go on my own and varnish it.’ I climbed to the top of the scaffolding and put my big varnishing pots on the top. It was really windy that day and the wind blew the gate shut. The gate ended up hitting the pots, and it could’ve taken my head off, to be honest. After that, I knew I would never, ever work up high on my own. You have to have someone with you; it’s just not worth the risk.
Could you tell me more about your other forms of art?
Right now, I do canvas work and I still work as a community artist, so I do workshops with kids where I teach street art. I also do a lot of recycled artwork. I’ll go and get a big army tent from Army Surplus, and we’ll make it into backdrops and paint it, or we’ll use inner tubes and make jewellery.
Glasswork was something that I was really into when I was at university, and I used to work with a glass blower in Matlock who taught me. So just before lockdown, I’d go and collect glass bottles, like nice vodka bottles, take the tops off, sandblast flowers onto them and then sell them as vases, because they’re beautiful pieces of art. In fact, in The Chapel upstairs in The Angel, I made that huge chandelier from an old trampoline frame and drums that you brew beer in. Then, I made loads of shades and put them all the way around it.
Do you think street art has a positive impact on communities?
Absolutely. I think it brings people together, in the sense that they talk about it, and discuss it with each other. I think in Beeston, in particular – when I started, there were quite a lot of alleys that had a lot of fly tipping and stuff, and people wouldn’t walk down there. Now, there’s a beautiful mural and no fly-tipping. I think it makes people respect the environment a little bit more, particularly if you do it with children. It gives them a sense of belonging, and that it’s there, they’ve done it, and then they want to look after it. It gives them a community spirit and uplifts them.
To meet Anna, head to see her painting a mural on Saturday 20 September at The King Billy for Art Fest 2025.
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