The final straw: Angus Balesy Fleur Baxter hints at capping her fieldwork fun

Fleur Baxter's roadside artwork has thrilled families - and raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity - for a decade.

By Graham Brown

September 20 2024, 5:55am

Fleur Baxter's bale art has been a hit in the heart of rural Angus. Image: Kris Miller/DC Thomson.

For a decade excited kids have sprinted for the stubble to get up close to Fleur Baxter’s agricultural artwork.

She was even talked about in the corridors of Buckingham Palace.

But now Angus Balesy has revealed she’s, err, baling out being outstanding in her field when it comes to creating giant-sized cartoon characters on a freshly-cut canvas.

Fleur Baxter bale art in Angus. — Desperate Dan was one of Balesy’s artworks. Image: DC Thomson

And as the area basks in its Indian summer, Fleur revealed a perfect storm’s put paid to this season’s harvest offering.

Minions began the bale art phenomenon

It has been ten years since folk on the Forfar to Carnoustie road near her East Skichen farm first said ‘hey, look at that’.

Staring back from the newly-cut field were giant Minions painted on round bales of barley straw.

Since then she’s had growing numbers waiting to see what the next line-up will be.

Angry Birds, Pokemon, Toy Story, Pooh Bear, Desperate Dan, Minnie the Minx, The Avengers and a host of others have all featured.

In 2022, she recreated the now-famous image of the Queen and Paddington Bear holding hands.

Fleur's bale creation in Angus and the original iconic art piece, inset. — The Queen and Paddington sketch inspired Fleur’s tribute following Her Majesty’s death. Pic: Gareth Jennings/DC Thomson

It won the seal of approval from its original artist and was talked about in the Royal household as the nation mourned the monarch.

Across the past decade Fleur’s charity total has soared.

She’s raised tens of thousands of pounds for many vital charities. Numerous external commissions have followed across Scotland.

Fans thank Fleur Baxter for 10 years of fun

Fleur’s been flooded with messages since taking to social media to reveal Balesy might be getting put out to grass, so to speak.

“Any other September I’d be drawing and planning my next idea for charity,” she said.

“But I think perhaps Balesy has laid down her spray cans for the very last time.

“It’s a massive job to set up and to complete and this year the lack of a field means it might be the end of an era.”

Fleur Baxter bale art — Last year’s Avengers display at East Skichen in Angus. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson.

A wrist injury this summer hasn’t made things any easier. And she’s also busy with her other highly sought-after and very special ‘ordinary’ artwork.

“It’s been a brilliant 10 years,” she said. “I’ve met so many fabulous folk and made donations to cancer charities, Parkinson’s, SAMH, the Trussell Trust, SCAA and mountain rescue.

“It looks like it might be the last straw – but you never know,” she said.