Midhurst artist revived neglected window
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A Midhurst artist has transformed a once‑blank window on Knockhundred Row after deciding it deserved “a bit of cheering up”.
Stephen Saunders, who lives a short walk from Faustino’s wine bar, passed the back window almost daily and noticed the blinds were usually drawn. “It struck me as a waste of a good window,” he said. “It looked like it needed something to lift it.”
So, he approached the owners with an idea: a bespoke artwork that would bring colour to the street and give the wine bar something unique. They agreed, without knowing what the finished piece would look like, and trusted him to create something that would suit both the business and the passing public.
The result is a lively mural that blends the atmosphere of a tapas bar with the people and animals that often feature in Mr Sauders’ commissions. “I wanted to do something for them and something for me,” he said. “Hence the tapas bar for them, and the characters for me.”
The project took several months to complete, fitted around his full‑time job as a truck driver in the film and TV industry. Now approaching his 70th birthday, he admits the long nights, bright headlights and unsocial hours are taking their toll. “My eyes are so important to me, drawing is likely to be my only other means of making a living, so I’m very keen to retire from the road as soon as I can.”
Most of the mural was created at his kitchen table in the early hours. “I’m always tired from the night work, a bit like jet‑lag,” he said. “I find myself up at 4.30 in the morning even when I don’t have to be, but that’s when I’m freshest to draw.”
Stephen and his wife moved around the corner from Faustino's last year, and the idea for the window came soon after. He first spoke to Tapas Bar around Christmas, then quietly got on with the work. “They didn’t know what the result was going to look like,” he said. “They trusted me, and it seems I may have managed something they like.”
Residents can see more of Stephen’s work at his exhibition and sale at the Old Library on Saturday 10th October, from 10am to 3pm.