Renovator has painted 134 homes in one town so far, with claims it has reinvigorated the area and boosted house prices — and now the council is offering up funding for her to continue making homes into rainbows
Tash Frootko has been painting houses since 2018 which has reportedly not only improved resident's lives, but also the value of their homes(Image credit: SWNS)
An artistic renovator transforming a city by painting its houses different colours has unveiled her latest street of 63 "rainbow" homes.
Tash Frootko, 44, has been painting walls of houses in Gloucester since 2018 — giving a makeover to entire streets and squares.
Local residents say it has created a better atmosphere and hope the painted walls can become a "landmark" for Gloucester.
A whopping 1,300 litres of brightly-colour paint
Over the course of the past five years, Tash has been tirelessly pursuing her mission to shape Gloucester into the renowned Rainbow City.
She has recently revealed her most ambitious undertaking to date, a remarkable project involving 63 houses on Hopewell Street adorned with striking colours.
This marks the artist's fifth transformation within the city with a total of 134 houses painted in her signature vivid colours, using a whopping 1,300 litres of paint.
Now, she is determined to extend her artistic vision to encompass entire districts, turning them into expansive "outdoor art galleries" that captivate and inspire.
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Hopewell Street before the rainbow transformation(Image credit: Google Street View)
After Tash painted the homes (Image credit: SWNS)
Tash explains that she self-funded these projects but announced that her 2023 and 2024 projects will now be partially funded by Gloucestershire County Council's Levelling Up Together scheme.
She added: "I will continue to work completely voluntarily so that every penny of funding goes towards making the area shine."
The property developer said the work, "shows what an individual with a vision can achieve," potentially giving others ideas when they renovate their house.
The new makeovers have also been accompanied by a huge floral mural by street artist Sophie Mess, as well as murals by Frootko's partner Stuart Doust, which has transformed the entire square.
Aiming to bring happiness to people
Tash developed a deep affection for Gloucester upon her arrival 20 years ago, and her fondness for the city has kept her there ever since.
During recent years, she dedicated herself to a personal venture close to her heart, infusing vibrant colours into the urban landscape as her passion project.
"I started these transformations as there was such a negative morale about the appearance of the city.," she explained. "The backdrop has been here all the time, it just needed a creative mind and a huge injection of colour to decorate it. My projects get more exciting every time and I seem to have a template and formula that works."
She claims she wanted to create an environment for people to live really happy lives and also hopes the rainbow houses will become a tourist destination for the city.
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Tash has painted 63 homes on Hopewell Street in her largest project yet(Image credit: SWNS)
She has so far painted 134 houses in Gloucester, and has plans to do much more(Image credit: SWNS)
She has used 1,300 litres of paint in the hope of creating expansive "outdoor art galleries" that inspire(Image credit: SWNS)
"Overwhelmingly positive" response
Residents of the newly transformed street have shared their thoughts on Tash's work, claiming it has reinvigorated the entire area.
Tash painted the house of Rushelle Archer, who said: "I absolutely love it. If it wasn't for Tash then none of us really would have come out and really spoken to each other."
Rob Wilks, who has lived on the street for 63 years, said: "It was like Tash appeared from nowhere and turned our street into a work of art.
"The tireless work she does behind the scenes to fix the street's issues before adding her signature colours is admirable.
"She has bought love, fun, colour and laughter to the street and we can't thank her enough for that."
Brigitte Wurfel-Mathurin, who has lived in the area for 37 years said: "There is no end to this lady's ability to improve the look of our city.
"Her remarkable vision and drive is phenomenal and she takes the community on the adventure with her. She has created a kaleidoscopic masterpiece here and another landmark for Gloucester."
Tash has said the response from other members of the community, such as its schools and visitors to the street has also been "overwhelmingly positive".
Tash claims the response from residents and the community at large has been "overwhelmingly positive" (Image credit: SWNS)
News Editor Joseph has previously written for Today’s Media and Chambers & Partners, focusing on news for conveyancers and industry professionals. Joseph has just started his own self build project, building his own home on his family’s farm with planning permission for a timber frame, three-bedroom house in a one-acre field. The foundation work has already begun and he hopes to have the home built in the next year. Prior to this he renovated his family's home as well as doing several DIY projects, including installing a shower, building sheds, and livestock fences and shelters for the farm’s animals. Outside of homebuilding, Joseph loves rugby and has written for Rugby World, the world’s largest rugby magazine.
