View of the capital from Tower Bridge

A CELEBRATED artist who has painted Islington street scenes more than 600 times in the last 30 years spent the summer months painting the view from Tower Bridge while being quizzed by tourists.

That’s because Melissa Scott Miller was commissioned by the Tower Bridge trustees to paint its view from its west walkway overlooking some of London’s best-known landmarks.

Ms Scott Miller, 63, who lives in Caledonian Road, will see her paintings auctioned off for charity Arts Network to raise money for people with mental health illnesses.

She said: “Thousands of people were going past while I worked – and I do paint outside a lot and I often get people who go past, but nothing like this. At first I found it difficult to work because I can go into my own world and it was a bit distracting.

A back garden in Islington

“But I found that I could still switch off and it was very nice as well because I got lots of encouragement.”

Ms Scott Miller’s paintings of street scenes and buildings including many schools – as well as canal views and expansive back gardens – have seen her gain a large following.

She says many come out of their homes to offer cups of tea, while on one occasion she was painting in Rosebery Avenue near Angel when she went to buy a drink in a shop and the shopkeeper told her “everything is free for you” because he thought what she was doing was “wonderful”.

Melissa Scott Miller

Ms Scott Miller is currently preparing for two exhibitions: the first is later this month at Holloway’s Islington Arts Factory and the second, due to take place at the Chris Beetles Gallery in St James’s next spring, will be a one-person show of almost exclusively Islington scenes.

Her Tower Bridge paintings are due to be auctioned in November.