Shanes Castle, Bath Road, Devizes

purdey12345, on December 15, 2007, said:

Nice trompe l'oeil on a private house.

DailyMadness, on February 7, 2008, said:

Very realistic! Including the cat!

purdey12345, on February 7, 2008, said:

Thanks DM. If you want to see a really spectacular trompe l'oeil take a look at this!

© Rapidsh☺t, on March 3, 2008, said:

This is just for Sunny in Austria!

4ullas, on March 1, 2009, said:

Hi purdey12345:

This is to encourage you to submit this picture at the March09 NPC. In my view it is above the average already posted entries.

Best regards from 4Ullas

Bruce da Moose, on March 1, 2009, said:

Hi, Purdey - why would this not meet the NPC requirements? Not only is it a pretty darned nice photograph, with a distinctively sunny and inviting mood, it also is a doorway with doors (and a pleasantly open one to boot, with a sweet kitty cat ready to greet the visitor!), and it is a nearly perfect fit... :-) Have I missed something? Enter it!

~ da Moose

purdey12345, on March 2, 2009, said:

Hi Bruce. The problem is you'd get a very sore nose if you tried walking through it. It was a doorway once but it's been blocked up for years. I read your guidelines as meaning the door had to be functional rather than merely decorative. Please advise. Thanks for your encouragement 4ullas! Best wishes, purdey

Bruce da Moose, on March 2, 2009, said:

!!! You fooled me!!! Even at full size, I thought it was real! Maybe I need glasses...

Well, technically, yes, this is not really a functioning doorway or set of doors. It surely is a great photo though. However, I would appreciate it if you could replace this with something more operational.

Still, the requirements allow a lot of latitude and creativity, so don't feel stuck!

Sorry about that... :-(

~ BdM

Bruce da Moose, on March 6, 2009, said:

Purdey - It is because of photos like this one that I have such a struggle with this moderator's job. I tried to pick a subject that would be readily accessible to every person without having to opt out or resort to unusual approaches. Then you come along with gem, completely unanticipated by this person with all of his human frailty, and have "stumped the panel".

~ da Moose

grcav, on March 7, 2009, said:

This is funny! Nicely spotted Purdey.

purdey12345, on March 7, 2009, said:

Thanks grcav. I must have driven past this a thousand times and not seen it. It was only when I had to visit the town and walk about that I saw the 'door'!

skiasma, on April 10, 2009, said:

Cheers! Just was looking for a snap of Shanes Castle and discovered this to my delight... You see, I painted the mural! And live in the basement of the house as well. ^__^ It took 8 days to paint, roughly. (inside the house, we flipped it when it was finished. I'd be mad to paint that in traffic...) The cat is Sir, who's 17 1/2 and much less friendly in real life. grin He's a tad cartoony in the painting because I wanted his expression to be clear from the school across the street. And it's just a stop gap measure, as the actual working doors will be put back in place eventually. Dunno what we'll do with the painting afterward!

purdey12345, on April 10, 2009, said:

I'm really glad you approve skiasma. Thanks for the information on how you did it. I had wondered how you got permission to close off part of the A361 while you were busy with the paintbrushes :-)

Glad to here Sir is still with you. Perhaps you could donate the artwork to Devizes museum, or maybe sell it on ebay!