With her signature blend of nature-inspired creativity, her passion for protecting the environment and her strong sense of community spirit, Plymouth artist Ellie Johnson, aka Mrs Murals, is a beacon of enthusiasm for St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s Guiding Lights art trail and auction spectacular that’s set to dazzle the city’s streets in summer 2026.
As one of two launch artists, alongside St Luke’s patron and celebrated city painter Brian Pollard, in May Mrs M proudly unveiled the design she created for a small scale lighthouse that will travel to different locations across South West and West Devon and into Cornwall in the lead-up to the event, encouraging public engagement and support for the hospice.
Now she has set her sights on conjuring up the perfect imagery to transform one of 40 2.4m tall lighthouse sculptures into a striking vision to delight visitors on the exhibition trail. And, when she starts painting it, she’s keen to share her progress with the public.
Some artists prefer to work behind closed doors and only reveal their creations when they are absolutely complete, but Mrs M actually enjoys an audience. When your usual canvas is an outside wall, there’s no escaping onlookers as one of her supersized pictures takes shape over many hours and days, so she has learned to embrace the scrutiny.
She is hoping to secure a suitable space, indoors or out, depending on the weather, where she can set up the tools of her trade – including her super important tape measure and ladder – in full view of anyone who wants to watch and ask questions as her unique design comes alive from February next year.
“I’m very proud and delighted to be involved in such a wonderful project,” said Mrs M. “As a local artist with works displayed in the area, I have become more widely known, which allows me to use this platform to raise awareness for St Luke’s and the incredible work they do”.
In the meantime she has plenty of commissions to keep her busy. One of her summer assignments has been transforming what was a long, blank wall in a junior school playground to celebrate learning, books, the school’s crest and local flora and fauna.
As she stands back to assess her work, a flock of Canada geese fly overhead in a classic V formation, honking loudly. Birds of many different feathers are some of Mrs M’s favourite subjects and often feature in her paintings.
A seagull in flight features alongside traditional red and white lighthouse colours, and the blue of the sea and sky, on her small Guiding Lights sculpture.
“Seagulls aren’t everyone’s favourite birds, but they are part of Plymouth; they live here with us whether we like it or not!” said bright and bubbly Mrs M, who lives with her family near the coast, just down the road from St Luke’s Turnchapel base.
“I like to support local charities when I can, and I sway towards those that are close to my heart, and I have also supported the RNLI and Children’s Hospice South West.
“I have seen first-hand through neighbours the support St Luke’s gives and the importance of that. And when one of my customers told me they had been diagnosed with terminal cancer I contacted St Luke’s to ask the procedure for being referred, and they are now getting support. Just knowing it is there if you need it is amazing.”
She got involved with Guiding Lights after meeting St Luke’s head of fundraising Penny Hannah at the Devon Women in Business Awards.
“Penny said she had been thinking about getting in touch with me and we took it from there. It really is such an honour to be asked.”
After honing her mural skills on her own house, and thoroughly enjoying it, Mrs M launched herself as a professional mural artist in 2020 after being made redundant from her job as a data analyst when expecting her second child.
Going it alone has brought into play all the skills she has gathered through her varied studies and career. Her business has been flying ever since and she constantly has one eye on the weather forecast. Although she can paint between showers, torrential rain stops play.
She’ll usually paint for three days and spend the rest of her working week on design, creating and posting social media content and business admin.
“Murals seem to be really popular now. I may be biased but if you walk into a place and you see something that’s bright and uplifting and joyous, it makes you feel happy,” she said. “I studied both art and photography which is very useful now because I take a lot of photographs and videos of my work, especially for using on social media.
“I also have a background in marketing and sales and that has helped a lot of different aspects of my business, particularly promoting my work. I am very lucky.”
Having spent her three years at university “avoiding paint”, she has taught herself how to make her magic with it.
“Although I’ve mostly worked on walls, and I was a bit nervous about tackling different shapes and textures, I am used to painting on lots of different surfaces now. I’ve painted some boat fenders and driftwood for the RNLI, and I’ve painted a double decker bus, so the lighthouse sculptures don’t phase me.”
For outdoor projects, like the lighthouse, she only uses the best quality masonry paint. She is lucky to be sponsored by Dulux, who supply her materials. Crown Paints are also generous in supporting many of her projects that use indoor paints.
Mrs M says the hardest part of her work is always coming up with the design, but she’s not giving away too many clues about what will feature on her next Guiding Lights project.
“I’m passionate about the environment and the beauty of Plymouth, so it definitely reflects that,” she said. “It’s taken a lot of time and thought. I’ve done a great deal of research, met people to talk about it, and been to the places and organisations I needed to visit.
“Then it’s about bringing all those aspects together to create the impact I am hoping for. In my head I think painting it will take about six days but, in reality, it’s probably going to be a bit longer than that. There’s a great deal of planning and precision involved. I can’t wait to get started!”
If you’re an artist, there is still time to submit your design for one of the St Luke’s Guiding Lights lighthouses – for details visit https://stlukesguidinglights.com/artists/. The deadline for submissions is Monday 27 October 2025
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