Artist to paint 310 churches

A Christian art teacher aims to paint all 310 of the churches in her local diocese to raise awareness of their beauty.

Hayley Fern, 48, began capturing the churches across Leicestershire in watercolour during the school holidays last year.

Since then, she has painted 56 of the buildings. She hopes to finish the project in five years.

Mrs Fern, who teaches at Rawlins Academy, said she has found most of the sittings, which last for around two hours, very peaceful.

The artist told media that painting the churches has brought her closer to God. “There is an element of prayer, there’s certainly a mindfulness about it.

“It’s been sort of mentally very healthy for me. It has made me feel a little bit more reflective, a little bit more prayerful in my everyday life.”

Mrs Fern has been really blown away by the positive feedback she has received. She has a massive American following, Canadian following and she is grateful for the people who are being incredibly supportive.

A few people have suggested that it might become a book.

Fern told Premier News, “It’s opening up the opportunities to have conversations with people that, maybe wouldn’t normally talk about going to church or being part of a church”.

“I just want to be able to share my faith journey with people that might not ordinarily have the opportunity to talk about God. When I’m painting the churches, I’ve had some incredible conversations with people that maybe wouldn’t normally expect to find somebody sat at the church, you know, maybe they’ve just needed somebody to talk to at that moment in time.”

The art teacher is now considering collaborating with somebody who knows about the churches’ history to produce a book.

(Picture Courtesy: Hayley Fern)

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