A Cheltenham café is set to get an artistic makeover courtesy of local artist Carren Lu.

The Meadow Café, located on the edge of Cox’s Meadow, has recently reopened for business after being taken over by new owners, and on 3rd-4th August the café will host Cheltenham-based artist Carren Lu who will be painting a new mural on the main inside wall of the building.

It was a chance discussion with the new owners of the Meadow Café when Carren first introduced the idea of painting a mural inside the popular café. She said: “I regularly walk my dog in the park next to the café. One morning I popped in and noticed that the walls were looking a bit bare, so I suggested putting up a mural. The owners of the cafe were really keen, so we settled on a date and that was that.”

The project will take two days to complete, the café will be open for business, so customers will get the chance to watch Carren transform the main wall of the building into a colourful collage of wild flowers. Carren continued: “My painting will include lots of wild flowers and grasses that grow in the existing meadow. I want to bring to life all the colourful flowers to create something that will catch the eye of everyone who visits the café. It’s a lovely big wall, I can’t wait to get started on it.”

Carren’s work has been featured on BBC TV as well as in ‘25 Beautiful Homes’ magazine. She is particularly well known for her imaginative children’s murals which include much-loved characters from children’s literature. Carren continued: “I work a lot in commercial properties and homes. Some of my most favourite pieces have been murals of Paddington Bear and Peter Pan. Art isn’t an easy industry to make it in, it’s all about trying to get as much exposure as possible. I feel very lucky to have featured on ‘Britain’s Empty Homes’ on BBC television and in leading design magazines, it all helps me get noticed.”