Canal art expert Frank has bin busy painting

From his wheelie bin to the kitchen weighing scales – it is hard to find something in Frank Brown's house not covered in roses and castles.

Since taking up canal art, a pastime derived from the colourful painting of narrowboats, the 66-year-old has left little in his Brownhills home without the bright designs.

"You name it, I've painted it," Frank laughs.There is a saying in our house – if you sit still long enough you will get painted."

And he isn't joking, for Frank has painted his wheelie bin, the recycling boxes, washing line prop, kitchen weighing scales, barrels, oil cans, milk churns, his house number, old irons, chocolate tins, tea caddies and hand bells.

The art dates back to the 1800s, when boaters would decorate their vessels to make them look attractive sailing around the country's canals.

Initially the designs would feature everything from dogs and cats and scenery, but one theory is that as the canals became more crowded, the pictures would have to painted quicker and so they became simpler, with most artists choosing roses and castles.

Frank says there are many other theories. "The trip on the canal between Birmingham and London was three weeks and so when they started using the steam train to transport items, which could do it in a few hours, the barge owners had to give up their homes and live on the boats.

"When they started to paint they did roses to symbolise the gardens they had to give up and they painted castles because of the homes they had to leave – as they say, an Englishman's home is his castle."

Frank started painting several years ago when he moved into his home in Hednesford Road with wife Sheila.

"There was a lot of work to do on the property and when the builders had finished there was a tin bath left over. Sheila wanted to put it in the garden and fill it with herbs and it was a bit old-looking so I decided to paint it.

"I had always had a thing about canal art so I painted some leaves and roses on it. She said it was too nice to put herbs in and so she used it for flowers."

Frank then got a book on the art while visiting Ellesmere Port Canal Museum and developed his own style. "It started as a hobby but when our house got too full I thought I would try selling them," he says.

Frank was brought up in Bournville and his parents worked for Cadbury. He decided to train as a silversmith in the Jewellery Quarter and ended up creating silver works of art for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

He then went on to work at Lucas in Hockley as a senior buyer for 35 years, before his pastime became his job.

"At that time my father-in-law was going to Gas Street Basin in Birmingham to a shop which sold canal goods," he says.

"He took me down there and I spoke to the director and ended up doing quite a lot of pieces for him.

"Just outside the ICC there was a kiosk selling this shop's canal-themed objects and so the owner arranged for me to sit outside and do some painting, and if I sold anything then that was my pay.

"I was retired and this was just a hobby so I was never under any pressure to sell anything.

"There was always a lot of interest from people and I did that until last year when the company closed. I had people from all over the world buy the items and people would talk to me about my painting.

"The only place you get canal art is in the UK and so the Americans are fascinated with it."

Frank says he regularly has people knocking on his door asking him to paint things for them.

"I have painted items for celebrations such as weddings and anniversaries as well as barges," he says.

"Most of what I paint is bought from charity shops, to keep the cost down and produce pieces people can afford.

"I don't make a profit, I just make enough to ensure I can keep on painting.

"Many of the big boat companies are now going for corporate colours and they are not going for the traditional designs, which is a shame.

"This is one of those arts that is dying out, despite the fact that when people see it, it can still put a smile on their faces."