Belfast Grand Central Station has an energy that’s hard to describe until you stand still inside it. Light pours through the glass differently depending on the hour. Early morning is all soft silver. Lunchtime is warm gold. Evening drops everything into blues and purples.

I’ve spent many days painting here, and each time feels different. 

We held workshops with children from Fane Street, Blythefield and St Joseph’s Primary Schools. Their excitement filled the concourse. They noticed things adults miss - the angle of a staircase, the shape of shadows, the way colours echo across the space. 

Teachers told me that knowing routes in advance made bringing children into the city feel possible, not daunting and that the Journey Planner really gave children confidence to use public transport – as they knew where they were going and their parents knew where they would be. 

Later, I worked with third-year Belfast School of Art students. They analysed the architecture like a puzzle: the long vanishing points, the curve of the roof trusses, the flow of people moving through the building. 

Passengers often stop to speak. 

One man travelling from Portadown told me he uses the Journey Planner “like a tactical advantage.” 

A woman said the station feels like “the city’s welcome mat.” 

There’s wildlife here too - wagtails weaving between the tracks, bees visiting the flowerbeds outside, even a fox wandering through just after dawn one morning. 

Painting here feels like painting Belfast’s pulse. Everything moves, but everything has purpose. The station isn’t just a transport hub - it’s a living part of the city’s rhythm.