A striking new set of murals aims to bring the natural world into an unloved urban part of Starbeck, its creator says.
Sam Porter has painted three murals to brighten up the underpass near the level crossing.
They feature wild birds and plants, as well as symbols of the area’s history, on three boards put up along the white walls.
Harrogate-based Sam was commissioned by Starbeck in Bloom to do the work, which was funded by Northern Rail.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“The thing I found quite difficult was, I’m used to painting directly onto the walls and you can work with the environment easier.
“It could have spanned through the whole underpass, but we would have had to close the underpass, which would have been a problem.
“But doing this has been really good, because it has added another strand to my work, using panels if people don’t want things directly onto walls.”
Sam said he was fortunate to be offered space to work in the yard at Amara Jane, the furniture shop next to the station, keeping him close to where the paintings would go on display.
He has struck up a friendship with the business owner, Andreas Mandrekas, and has been offered use of the yard again in future.
After years of travelling to Manchester, where he was being commissioned regularly, Sam is happy to have been asked to do more work in Harrogate in recent years.
His murals can now be seen in Cross James Street in Harrogate, as well as on Cheapside and near the Two Brothers Grill and Pizzeria in Knaresborough.
He has also created artwork for community buildings, including Aspin Park and Western primary schools.
He will soon be working on a mural for the Kiosk at Conyngham Hall as part of Knaresborough’s Feva Festival.
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As part of his work, Sam enjoys researching local history to come up with the designs for his murals.
In Starbeck, he has featured some of the local buildings, as well as the Pump Room in Harrogate. He said:
“When people used to come to Harrogate for the waters, they used to get the train to Starbeck and then get coaches up, because people in Harrogate didn’t want the dirty trains coming into town.
“The workhouse was in Starbeck, so it has always been the more working class area of Harrogate, but a vital part of the whole thing.”
Much of his work has been commissioned to brighten up unloved or troubled areas of towns and cities.
Sam said statistics show levels of crime and anti-social behaviour can be reduced if hotspots are improved, prompting more local pride among the community.
His inspiration comes from the world around him, which he began to appreciate more during the pandemic.
“It was during lockdown I reconnected with nature a lot. There are a few things about that time that I miss.
“Obviously it was grim, but for the first time ever, you were told, ‘you don’t have to do anything and you aren’t expected to do anything’, so I focused in on some things I loved and started looking at nature again.
“I became aware of how lucky we are with what’s around us – so much beautiful countryside.
“I like bringing nature back into an urban environment. I think that’s really what needs to happen in the world, in order to save it. You need to live with nature, rather than keep on harming it.”