Fearless in his Devotion to Street Art
Liam
Stokes-
Massey
We met up with the talented Liam Stokes-Massey aka Pencilcraftsman, who is both an illustrator and muralist. Liam is originally from and lives in Wrexham.
Famous for the grandest scale projects dotted around town, with many of his works featured on the Wrexham Art Trail, Liam shared a few minutes with us at his infamous shepherd’s hut art workshop based in Ty Pawb.
Originally studying Astrophysics at Cardiff University, Liam’s career in Art began by chance whilst at Cardiff starting off with graphic novels. Discovering his new-found talent and enjoyment of being creative, he then began commissions shortly thereafter. Returning home to Wrexham in 2013 it took him a few more years to hone his art, skills and build on his confidence to really strike out in art full-time.
There’s no doubt about it nowadays, Liam’s skills have developed to a very high standard and finds himself in constant demand for new projects and works. Even whilst we were talking together, Liam was asked for a new commission from a walk-in enquirer – further reinforcing his popularity.
Liam confided “If you told me a few years ago that I’d be painting big walls, I would never have expected it at all. I didn’t feel like an artist, I used to feel like more of a skilled craftsman.”
Currently Liam is working on a new private commission, which is a collection of 38 individual pencil portraits of the entire Wrexham AFC team and management, all to be displayed in one mount. It is intended as a planned gift for a close family member. Liam explained that the level of detail and effort required is immense still and whilst the scale of the project is physically much smaller than his other famous projects – there is still a lot of effort and planning required to achieve the desired result.
Liam also makes his works accessible to wider audiences by selling high-quality prints and authorised copies both in person, via his online shop below and at approved distributors around town. We are looking forward to sharing more news on the exciting projects that Liam undertakes and has planned in the pipeline. We will add these here on our dedicated Visit Wrexham Arts page, so keep a look out for further updates.
In the meantime, we’d encourage you to follow The Pencil Craftsman on socials, check out the image gallery of some of Liam’s works displayed above and take to the Wrexham Art Trail to see his works in real life, when you visit Wrexham.
172 Appearances
110 Goals
3x Promotions
1x National League Trophy
3x Player of the Season
The Paul Mullin mural at The Fat Boar has been updated to honour his five-year tenure following his recent departure from the club.
We spotted Artist Liam Stokes-Massey when he returned in July to paint Mullin’s incredible statistics. These figures cement Mullin’s status as a true club icon who helped transform Wrexham AFC from the National League to the Championship.
His contribution extends far beyond goals; he gave hope to an entire town. As fans continue to celebrate his legacy, one truth remains undeniable: people will still be talking about Super Paul Mullin long into the future.
Image: Museum Wales.
The history of our famous Wrexham Tailor's Quilt. A 150 year old story of how we’re all connected and stitched together.
Wrexham
Tailor's
Quilt
Liam recreates Wrexham's patchwork masterpiece on the walls of its ancestral home in College Street Wrexham.