If you draw it, they will colour

A Paint by Numbers event in Belfast appealed to both adults and children alike, allowing the public to make their marks on others' designs, writes FIONOLA MEREDITH

ABOVE THE age of six or seven, most people forget the simple pleasures of colouring in. But the Paint By Numbers event in Belfast city centre gave both adults and children the chance to rediscover just how much fun it is to keep inside the lines – especially when you’re part of a communal colouring-in experience. For three successive weeks in July, an artist, a graphic designer and an architect each created a large-scale line drawing, working in full view of the public in the window of an empty shop. Passers-by could watch the progress of the artwork and, on the final day, the doors were thrown open and everyone was invited to come in and complete the work, armed with pens, pastels and crayons.

The one-off event was a joint brainwave of Place, the architecture organisation, and Trans, an arts festival that runs throughout July – a month that has traditionally been the “hungry gap” for cultural events in Belfast. First to take to the drawing window was Belfast-based artist Miguel Martin, who produced a surreal multi-perspective streetscape of Belfast, complete with a two-headed baby, a vicious monster plant, and a gentleman perched on a rooftop tucking into a plate of pig entrails. He was followed by designer and illustrator Ryan O’Reilly, whose collage-style piece, Day or Night, was inspired by remnants of old city signage and typography.

The final piece – a set of three deconstructed house plans, each with a different interior – was by Eva McDermott, a Dublin-born architect who moved to Belfast over a decade ago.

“The thing that struck me when I came to live in Belfast was the rows and rows of Victorian, red-bricked terraces. Coming from Dublin, I wasn’t familiar with that streetscape at all, and it seemed really characteristic of Belfast. I liked the fact that although each one has the same floor plan, everyone’s house is different inside, it’s such a flexible design. So for Paint By Numbers, I drew three “exploded isometrics” of a terraced house – 3D visualisations at a 45-degree angle, so you can see into it – one for a student, one for a couple and one for a family.”

McDermott also provided cut-outs of sofas, chairs, tables and lamps, to be stuck on to the main drawing, allowing people to “furnish” the houses in their own way. Her work evidently sparked the public imagination – as well as adding colourful patterns to curtains, carpets and wallpaper, someone added an entire granny flat to one of the houses. And there was a certain professional interest too – local architect Marcus Patton came in and drew a whimsical crayon-drawn chimney on one of the roofs.

How did McDermott feel about spending a week working in a shop window, exposed to the public gaze? “Well, I had my back to the window, so I was just dancing around, working away, I kept forgetting I was on view. But then people would knock on the window and wave and I’d wave back – it was a very friendly experience.”

“The idea for this started as a bit of a joke,” says Alice Quigley from the Trans festival. “But people are realising just how much they love colouring in. The good thing is, it breaks down the barriers between the artist and the public: it’s a simple set-up, but people have really connected with it.”

Fuelled by home-made sangria, juice and crisps, most people seemed to find the colouring-in process quite addictive, spending ages adding detail to their own chosen corner. And there was a natural democracy at work, too – the taller adults tackled the higher parts, while smaller people and children got to grips with the lower areas.

“Very therapeutic,” was the verdict of photographer John Baucher, attending the event with his young son. Colin, an archaeologist and artist from Belfast, enjoyed the collaborative nature of the project: “It lets people interact with art; it lets everyone become artistic. And I like the fact that it’s not taking place in a formal gallery, instead it’s bringing art to the public. But it’s no coincidence that this is happening now – Belfast is becoming more arty in general, with lots of exciting things happening, and secret little pop-up galleries opening up. You just need to know where to look.”