A bright new mural has been unveiled in downtown Sarnia.
On Wednesday, July 9 community members were invited to 216 Front Street North to celebrate the mural which highlights the waterfront district.
It was painted by Kennady Osborne of Seventh Rayn Design Company and Taryn Henry.
Patrick Coutu formally owned the building with Jim Pumple and they decided to update the side of the building prior to it being sold.
Coutu said the idea of the project started in December.
One of the artists Kennady Osborne said he requested there be a waterfront theme.
"Taryn and I really wanted it to be rooted in the waterways and obviously having the Canadian geese, Trilliums, the large purple plants you see is boneset and then the yellow is cedar, so very much surrounded in plant medicine, like what we have in our area," she said.
The mural also honours the land around the city.
This is the first time the two artists had worked together even though they knew each other by working with the NuSarnia Foundation.
Osborne said the challenge was figuring out a design because their styles are different.
"It was a great learning experience for the both of us. I've done a few murals but just by myself, so being able to bounce ideas off of another artist was really awesome, especially with someone with such a different perspective," she said.
Osborne also said working on this mural was an opportunity to learn more about each other.
"She grew up in Point Edward and I grew up in Corunna, so even seeing how we relate to certain things with the water and having conversations like that and even about our spirituality and the way that we connect in that way has been a really special experience," she said.
Henry and Osborne both said neither of them have painted anything this large.
Painting started in May and finished on Monday, July 7. Osborne estimates between 130 to 150 hours were put into the mural.
Meanwhile, Coutu said the design has come full circle.
"When we started this there wasn't this trade war or what's going on, so the Canadian theme kind of seems appropriate at this time," he said.
The budget for the project was $40,000 and was provided with help from local grants and organizations.
Coutu said he was amazed when he finally got to see the final product.
"The artists are amazing. To be able to do this on this scale I can't comprehend how they did it but they did an amazing job," he said.
