‘I just want to make people smile’: Woman takes rainbow painting craze to the extreme as she covers her whole house in colourful mural to lift spirits amid coronavirus lockdown
- Rhiannon Lewis painted her home in Cardiff in a colourful mural to spread hope
- She wanted to show support for the NHS and ‘bring a smile to people’s faces’
- Pupils across UK have displayed rainbow paintings in windows amid lockdown
- Viral #rainbowtrail trend gives children something to look out for on daily walks
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
A woman has painted her entire home in a colourful mural to lift spirits as part of a viral rainbow trend amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Rhiannon Lewis, who lives in Splott, Cardiff, said she wanted to ‘put a smile on people’s faces’ and give something for ‘children to look out for on their daily walk’.
It comes amid a viral #rainbowtrail trend initiative which aims to spread hope and positivity, with children across the country displaying rainbow paintings in their windows.
Rhiannon Lewis, left, and her neighbour painted her entire Cardiff home in a colourful mural to lift spirits as part of a viral #rainbowtrail trend to spread hope amid the coronavirus lockdown
Ms Lewis posted the colourful mural, above, onto her Facebook and Instagram @cardiffcottage, captioning: ‘Stay home and support our NHS’
Ms Lewis, who is from The Valleys in South Wales, posted the colourful mural onto her Instagram page @cardiffcottage, captioning: ‘A Rainbow to make you smile. All this self isolating may be getting some people down.
‘I’ve seen a lot of rainbow drawings in the windows locally to me and then found a Facebook group called Rainbow trail to keep the kids entertained during their once a day walk.
‘So here’s my version, huge thanks to my neighbour for helping me paint the last few days. You are ace! Keep safe everyone. Stay home and support our NHS.
‘They are working hard just to keep us all alive. The biggest thing we can do is keep ourselves out of harms way.’
The Cardiff resident’s pictures went viral online, racking up over 1,000 likes on Facebook.
Ms Lewis told MailOnline: ‘I saw the trend on Facebook and thought what have I got to lose, I can always paint over it and I’ve got some spare time on my hands. I did it on a whim.
A picture, above, of the home went viral on Facebook, gaining over 1,000 likes. Ms Lewis said: ‘I’ve had people coming up to me on the street and saying it’s fantastic’
The resident who lives in Splott, Cardiff, said she also painted the mural to show support for the NHS, adding: ‘Everyone knows someone who works in the NHS’
‘I just want to make people happy and put a smile on their face, and it’s something for children to come and find on their daily walks.
‘I also want to show support for the NHS – everyone knows someone who works in the NHS – most of my best friends do and I worry about them.
‘I’ve had people knocking on the door and coming up to me on the street and saying it’s fantastic. I’ve met more neighbours in the last three days than in the last three years I’ve lived here.’
She added: ‘It has brought a sense of community – as I’m on a terraced road, anytime I do stand outside there’s always someone I can talk to, within social distancing rules of course!
‘As a community we’ll be stronger, as we know people a bit better now. I just want people to know there is hope out there – if we can do one nice thing each then it would make everything a bit better.’
Pupils from across the country have shared their pictures of rainbows as they begin their first week of home schooling.
The #rainbowtrail iniative pledges support to staying inside during the corona pandemic along with the hashtags #stayhomesavelives and #staysafestayhome.
Dedicated to helping NHS staff, youngsters from all corners of Britain have displayed their artwork in windows, with parents sharing pictures on Twitter, along with passers-by admiring them during their daily jog.