"Growing up in Tamworth, as a kid the place would come to life and that memory and perspective could only be captured by a local artist," Danny Stanley reflects.
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Danny Stanley is nearing the finish line for the last Bicentennial Park electrical substation art installation, after almost 18 months of meticulous planning.
Drawing much of his inspiration from his research into the County Music Festival, a jaunt into the Australia Country Music Hall Of Fame helped his ideas coalesce.
I didn't have much interest in country music and after going to the Hall of Fame, the history of the Festival is much more interesting and cooler than I thought.
- Danny Stanley
"I was blown away by the history, and old school entertainers like Smoky Dawson, who was a real showman doing everything from singing and playing the guitar to knife throwing," he said.
"I didn't have much interest in country music and after going to the Hall of Fame, the history of the Festival is much more interesting and cooler than I thought."
An image of Smoky Dawson made it onto the mural on the substation along with a big-top circus tent which was taken from a photo of Bicentennial Park during the Festival in the 1980s.
The mural also depicts a crowd from that same era, an opportunity Mr Stanley took to place himself in the mural as a child with an ice-cream.
Mr Stanley's intention is for people to imagine the substation is transparent; looking to a scene on the other side, as they gaze on the art.
The theme of each mural relates to the local community, identity and place such as the Tamworth Country Music Festival and City of Light, which fits perfectly with the support given to this project by Essential Energy.
- Bridget Guthrie
The substation is painted with high quality exterior house paint and will be finished with a clear protective paint to ensure its colour and vibrancy for years to come.
He is now tangibly a part of the project which has run over the past three years using local and regional artists.
Tamworth Regional Gallery and Museums director Bridget Guthrie said his is the final work in a series of murals throughout the CBD and Bicentennial Park.
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"The theme of each mural relates to the local community, identity and place such as the Tamworth Country Music Festival and City of Light, which fits perfectly with the support given to this project by Essential Energy," she said.
The final substation is located near Pioneers Parade across from Fitzroy Street Plaza, and its Tamworth Country Music Festival theme ties in with the bronze busts of country music greats situated nearby, Ms Guthrie says.
