Description

Bus-Pass Babs is a humorous and quietly moving Northern narrative painting inspired by a visit to Blackpool bus station and the overlooked social worlds created through public transport.

Part of Sue Dewhurst’s acclaimed Owd Lasses series, the painting follows Babs — a cheerful, sharp-tongued character who spends her days riding the circular bus route dressed in a shell suit armed with cigarettes, unsolicited life advice and a desperate determination never to feel lonely.

Painted before stories of pensioners riding buses for warmth and companionship became national talking points during the cost-of-living crisis, Bus-Pass Babs captures something deeply recognisable in modern British life. For Babs, the bus is far more than transport: it is company, routine, warmth, entertainment and belonging. Her free bus pass offers freedom in a world increasingly designed to overlook older working-class women.

Beneath the comedy and larger-than-life personality lies a portrait of resilience and survival. Babs turns public space into community, transforming fellow passengers into a captive audience for her jokes, money-saving tips and running commentary on life. Whether invited or not.

Rendered in vivid colour and simplified urban geometry, the painting combines humour, tenderness and social observation with contemporary figurative storytelling. Like much of Sue Dewhurst’s work, it celebrates the wit, adaptability and emotional resourcefulness of ordinary people navigating everyday Britain.

Ideal for collectors of Northern art, British social narrative painting and contemporary figurative artwork rooted in working-class culture, memory and human connection.

Sue Dewhurst is a contemporary British artist based in West Wales whose work explores humour, nostalgia and working-class identity through narrative painting. Influenced by Northern England, social history and everyday British culture, her paintings celebrate overlooked lives, public spaces and the emotional resonance of ordinary routines.

Her Owd Lasses series has developed a loyal following for its combination of cinematic storytelling, sharp humour and affectionate observations of modern British life.

Click here for more in the Owd Lasses series

• Original contemporary narrative painting by British artist Sue Dewhurst
• Part of the acclaimed Owd Lasses storytelling series
• Inspired by Blackpool bus station and British public transport culture
• Explores humour, loneliness and working-class resilience
• Features Sue Dewhurst’s signature blend of social observation and storytelling
• Professionally presented in a hand-painted wooden shadow frame
• Includes original typed character caption mounted on the frame
• Accompanied by Babs’ printed back story card
• A unique conversation piece exploring modern British life and ageing
• Ideal for collectors of Northern art and contemporary figurative painting
• Ready to hang immediately