16
Dec
‘It’s been a real community effort’: new mural unveiled in Starbeck
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A new mural has been unveiled in Starbeck.
Sam Porter, street artist and owner of Mural Minded, has painted across two walls at Camwal Playground.
The artwork has spruced up the playground on Camwal Road.
The first wall shows a robin and a squirrel in a lush woodland. The second wall depicts two kingfishers in the same environment.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret today (December 16), Mr Porter said:
It’s been a real community effort. People were bringing me hot chocolates while I was out painting in the rain. It’s been a very rewarding project.
He added that the kingfishers were inspired by photographer Paul Birtwhistle, who regularly snaps the birds around Knaresborough.
Paul Birtwhistle standing in front of the Kingfishers.
Painting in all weather, the project took Mr Porter around four weeks to complete — twice as long as expected due to the poor conditions.
It would not have been possible without the help of the community.
Starbeck resident, Jill De Wit, told the Stray Ferret many people had donated towards the cost:
Councillor Philip Broadbank put money in, about £2,600. We raised almost £300 from a JustGiving page and then the rest from raffles and fundraising. We made just under £4,000 locally. Dulux also donated around £500 worth of paint for the project.
Ms De Wit said Starbeck Community Fund has pledged a further £7,000 for the big wall next to the park to be painted, too.
The finished project.
Mr Porter is targeting the biggest wall next.
Mr Porter said:
We need as much help as possible for the next wall. It would be amazing if we could get the other two buildings too.
We’d love the area to be used for other stuff than just the park, too. If you think about Brick Lane in London and the Northern Quarter in Manchester, street art played a massive part in making them the trendy areas that they are today. We’d love the same for this area.
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