Artist's Colorful Quest: Painting Every Liverpool Pub for a Lasting Legacy

Gary North, a talented artist from the North West, has taken on a unique challenge in Liverpool. After winning the Lancashire Artist of the Year award in 2025, Gary decided he wanted to do something meaningful with his art. Instead of focusing on selling his paintings, he wanted to create a legacy that would last. His idea was to paint every single pub in Liverpool, capturing the spirit and history of the city through its famous drinking spots. So far, Gary has finished about 150 paintings out of the estimated 285 pubs in Liverpool.

Gary explained that he chose pubs because they are more than just places to drink. In Liverpool, pubs are like the heart of the community. People come together there to talk, laugh, and share stories. While many pubs in other cities are closing down, Gary noticed that Liverpool’s pubs are still going strong. Only one pub, The Winslow near Goodison Park, has closed since he started his project, and that was mainly because the Everton football team moved to a new stadium. Gary believes that the city’s pubs are so old and full of history that they are not likely to close just because of trends.

To make each painting special, Gary uses different styles and techniques. Some pubs are painted with watercolors, while others are done in bright, impressionistic colors. He has favorite pubs to paint, like The Pig and Whistle, The Vines, The Ship and Mitre, and The Baltic Fleet. Sometimes, getting the perfect angle for a painting means standing in tricky spots, like the middle of a busy road. Gary’s goal is to create a kind of art pub crawl, where people can walk through the city and see his paintings leading up to St George’s Hall before a big beer festival in September. He hopes his project will help people appreciate Liverpool’s pubs and remember their importance for years to come.