AN ARTIST in Bournemouth has received a barrage of praise following the installation of his mosaic of English motoring and aviation pioneer Charles Rolls.

Having studied music and writing in his younger years, Matthew Byrom, who was born in Boscombe, forged a love for art whilst living in a “bohemian” household in Michigan, where he met his wife.

After moving back to his hometown to raise a family, the 30-year-old began experimenting with small mosaic projects in the Tuckton area.

Matthew said: “I have been doing these mosaics for a little over two years now.

“I started doing pieces on old bits of trees and derelict sites in the area where the sulphur vents are. Lots of people stopped by on their walks and saw what I was doing and said how good they were.”

“So I decided to move them to a more public area and did my first one of the Tuckton bridge during daylight which was a lot of fun and gave me that adrenaline rush.

“Whilst I was doing it, around 20 or 30 people stopped to say how awesome it was and how nice it was to have their own local Banksy.”

Having produced three mosaics on Tuckton high street, he set his eyes on a new project closer to his home in Southbourne.

Matthew, who resides on Southlands Avenue, located a long alleyway close to his home as his next location but was undecided on what mosaic to do, until he spoke top one of his neighbours.

He added: “I found out the people who lived in the house which the alleyway backs onto and asked them if they would be happy for me to do a mosaic there and said that would be a lovely thing to do.

“They came back to me around a month later and asked me do you know anything about Charles Rolls and at that time it didn’t.

“I watched around ten documentaries about him and his work with the Wright Brothers and of curse Rolls Royce and he seemed like a really cool guy.”

Aside from being known as the co-founder of the Rolls-Royce car firm with Henry Royce. Charles Rolls was also the first Briton to be killed in an aeronautical accident with a powered aircraft, when the tail of his Wright Flyer broke off during a flying display in Bournemouth in 1910.

After completing the mosaic in a week, Matthew posted some photos up on social media, including the SoBo: Southbourne Community Group where he received acclaim from hundreds of residents.

“I linked it to the SoBo community group as I thought local people would want to know about it, and it kind of blew up from there,” he said.

The post now has got around 600 likes and around 150 comments. SoBo Fish got in touch with me off the back of that so I contacted them, and we have arranged that I will do a mural for them.

“I never intended it to be advertisement for my services or anything like that but, thanks to the reaction of people in the group, it has totally worked out that way.”

Matthew says he plans to add to the mosaic in between his commissioned work and when the Covid-19 restrictions allow him to do so.

He added: “At the moment, it is just Charles Rolls there. I have put up some small hot air balloons next to him as well as he lovely to travel that way and did around 170 journeys in them

"I am thinking of adding to the mosaic with the inclusion of the Wright Brothers and maybe The Spirit of Ecstasy, the bonnet ornament sculpture used on Rolls-Royce cars, as this is something that Charles Rolls embraced right up until the time of his death

“I have a lot of commissioned work to do at the moment which is keeping me busy and helping to providing some income for me and my family, but, when I do not have any work to be getting on with and I am safe to do so under the Covid restrictions, I will add to it as it is just down the road from me.”