The Cú Sìth – A Celtic and Norse Mural on the Tullibody Cycle Path
I've always been interested in the mythology and history of Scotland, particularly the Celtic, Pictish and Norse influences that are woven into the country's past. So when I'm painting something for myself rather than a client, I like to explore those subjects and see how I can bring them into a modern graffiti mural.
This mural, painted inside a tunnel on the Menstrie cycle path near Tullibody, is one of those pieces.
At the centre is the Cú Sìth, the huge supernatural hound from Scottish folklore. I wanted it to look more like something that had appeared out of the darkness of the forest rather than a traditional representation of a mythical dog, so I went with the glowing green colouring and the almost ghostly appearance.
Either side of the Cú Sìth are Huginn and Muninn, the two ravens associated with Odin in Norse mythology. The ravens worked particularly well with the hound because they add another layer to the scene without taking attention away from the main character.
Behind the animals I painted a dark Scottish forest, with the trees disappearing into the background. The whole thing is surrounded by graffiti elements, colour and mist, with the turquoise and pink helping to give the mural that surreal, otherworldly feeling I was looking for.
There are also Pictish elements incorporated into the design. I wanted the mural to bring together several different strands of the history and mythology of Scotland rather than concentrating on just one period.
Painting the mural
The location itself was a big part of the reason I wanted to paint this piece. It's inside a concrete cycle-path tunnel, where I painted previous ancestral and heritage based murals - a Pictish man and his dog and the Maeate warrior.
People walking and cycling through the tunnel can see the murals as they pass, and hopefully it gives them something to stop and look at, and also makes them go home and google a little bit about their ancient ancestors who once inhabited Scotland.
Andy SGM
