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A splash of colour for a rainy day: Alice’s award-winning mural at St Mary’s School

30 Apr 2025

When mural artist Alice Blake picked up her paintbrush at St Mary’s School in Milton, she wasn’t just creating a mural – she was brightening the playground and bringing joy to the tamariki, especially on gloomy, rainy days. Her vibrant Noah’s Ark-inspired masterpiece also earned third place in the latest Resene Mural Masterpiece Competition – and it’s easy to see why! 

Painted entirely with Resene testpots (over 100 of them – enough to make a receipt taller than the staff holding it), the mural is a riot of colour, featuring a joyful collection of animals lovingly chosen and named by the children.  


Alice’s playful mural is painted in a wide range of Resene testpot colours, including Resene Buttercup, Resene Turbo, Resene Adrenalin,Resene Jambalaya, Resene St Kilda, Resene Black, Resene White, Resene Lipstick, Resene Pohutukawa, Resene Dell, Resene Limerick, Resene Buddha Gold, Resene Mustard and Resene Bondi Blue. 


The mural includes playful elements such as pigs, pandas, penguins and more, painted in bright shades of Resene St Kilda, Resene Lipstick, Resene Pohutukawa, Resene Dell, Resene Limerick, Resene Mustard and Resene Bondi Blue. 

From elephants to pandas and playful flamingos, each creature carries a splash of personality – and perhaps even a story or two. “One child wrote ‘an elephant came to school and it played with me,’” Alice says, after her initial elephant sketch sparked imaginative classroom tales. 

This mural is extra special to Alice – it lives at her son’s school, and its creation has brought the community together, including through a Resene-sponsored ‘paint and sip’ fundraiser for the school.  


If you’re wondering what over 100 testpots looks like, then this is it. Proof of Alice’s efforts and the colour that has gone into her joyful mural at St Mary’s.  

Fresh off a three-month exhibition at Dunedin International Airport, Alice is no stranger to large-scale artworks, but her favourite hue? Resene Buttercup. “I recommend it to anyone looking for a happy splash of colour – it’s fab.” 

This mural doesn’t just brighten walls – it brings colour to the hearts of everyone who sees it. 

If you’d like to see more of Alice’s work, visit her Facebook page here!  

Published: 30 Apr 2025