ONE of the artists behind the brand-new Oswestry mural has described the delight she and her collaborator felt when the public picked their design.

Last week, the mural was revealed on the side of Powis Indoor Market Hall, showing off the traders that operate out of the building, and revealed its official opening with town mayor Councillor Mike Isherwood.

It was created by Sarah Parkinson and Debbie Carr – known as Doodle Deb – and Sarah said the pair worked hard to ensure that their option was the public choice which she admitted was a boost before they even started.

MORE NEWS:

She said: “It was a massive boost that the public chose our design but when you enter into things like this, it’s important to keep a level head.

“Having the opportunity to work on this would have been amazing but we had to keep a level head throughout the process because if we didn’t get it, we’d have been crestfallen.

“There’s lots of amazing artists in Oswestry and we worked so hard to make sure it was a great design to put forward.

“We got together weekly around March/April this year to solidify what we wanted to do before we handed it in to make sure we ticked all boxes.

“We wanted it to be beautiful but for you to see something different every time as well and also for people to feel part of it by having something they could pose with.

“But above all else, it had to show off the market and all the traders as best we could in a bright and colourful way.”

Sarah Parkinson and Debbie Carr, the artists behind the new Oswestry mural. Sarah Parkinson and Debbie Carr, the artists behind the new Oswestry mural. (Image: Graham Mitchell.)

The pair worked through all weathers to ensure the mural would be ready in time and Sarah admitted the experience a hugely positive one for them both.

And the pair admitted that they are incredibly proud of their work and hope for a legacy.

She said: “Debs is a window artist so she is the pro and I was her ‘Padawan’ for it – I had done murals before but it was always away and never in front of loads of people.

“She was warning me by saying ‘be prepared’ as in the past, people have shaken her ladders or drunk people walking past, but in Oswestry, we were amazed at how lovely everyone was when they were walking past us.

“It might have made a difference that there were two of us there and the reaction of people going past was brilliant.

“It wasn’t a distraction at all and people understood when we just got on with what we were doing and stood there while we brushed away.

“It was just a really nice thing to be doing.

Get in touch

Share your views on this story by sending a letter to the editor. To get in touch email news@bordercountiesadvertizer.co.uk, or fill in the form on this section of our website.

“We worked from 8am until 4.30pm for eight days – we didn’t take a day off because we had that artist focus on us.

“The last day was pure varnish so hopefully it’ll be there as a legacy for us for many years to come.

“We’ve worked hard to make sure it stays up there and it’s such an honour, as an artist, to have that in your home town in a place so close to the centre, next to the Guildhall and where people come in from the car park – it’s huge.”

Both artists are available for commissions and can be contacted via their Instagram pages at @sparkauthor for Sarah and @doodledeb79 for Debbie.