Valery Khramov is a 90-year-old caretaker at School No.168 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. He was formerly an art teacher at the school, and for the past 25 years, he has been painting murals on the walls that span three floors. His art is said to be thematically separated into different branches of knowledge, such as the seasons, nature, geography, architecture and fairy tales. According to Khramov, he has spent the past three months focusing solely on painting the murals, and went a ten night stretch without sleep in order to finish the art in time for the upcoming school term.
The school’s Headmistress Tatyana Vyatkina has expressed her enthusiasm over the caretaker’s artwork, saying: “People who come to visit us are always struck by the paintings. At the same time, it helps to conceal some of the school’s rougher edges. Students have commented on their love for the art as well, as one told Channel 5 the following: “At break time, we won’t run the way we do normally, but look at the paintings instead, how they’ve been painted. Just imagine the range of colours that were needed.”
Khramov has obviously been successful in his endeavour to steer the children towards having an affinity for art and nature. Indeed, he commented: “I painted all these things in order to foster in the children a sense of what’s beautiful”. However, some of his older pieces are beginning to succumb to , with plaster even crumbling from the walls
Unfortunately, some of the older murals are beginning to fade and flake, with the plaster starting to crumble in some places. Khramov said he thinks that that one day, there won’t be anyone who will want to keep restoring the works, but is happy to do it himself for the moment.
