May 4, 2019 | Leave a comment The popularity of grain silos splashed with artwork has reached the township of St James in northern Victoria, where artist Timothy Bowtell is at work with his paints and brushes. The GrainCorp silos are being decorated with a mural of Sir George Coles, the founder of Coles supermarkets who was a local to the St James township. Mr Bowtell said he was excited to be putting the town of 360 on the art trail map with his mural. “It’s a real positive step for the town to bring in some tourism that will breathe a bit of life back into local businesses,” Mr Bowtell said. “I’ve painted a couple of buildings before but nothing of this scale, so it’s an honour to take on this project and contribute to the community.” The silo bunkers at St James were built in 1943, with bushels of wheat originally delivered to the site via horse and cart; a motif that will be displayed in the artwork. GrainCorp recently celebrated three years of the iconic silo art trail that began in western Victoria in 2015, with artist Guido van Helten’s depiction of farm workers sprawling across six silos at GrainCorp’s Brim site. Since then, the trail has spread across GrainCorp’s network with sites in Rosebery, Lascelles, Sheep Hills, Patchewollock, Rochester and Devenish all being painted. St James silo art committee secretary Kathy Beattie said the art project has had the support of the community, along with a $20,000 donation from Coles. “The Coles family have a long and close relationship with St James,” Ms Beattie said. For more information on Sir George visit the following website http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/coles-sir-george-james-9788