A Port Kembla couple has taken their love for street art to the extreme while paying tribute to a lost loved one.
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Darren James, 40, and partner Amber Munro-Keays, 37, hope people feel happy when they walk past their freshly painted Bland Street home.
The pair commissioned local artist Anthony Jones aka AYJAY to splash bold block colours around the exterior of their home, along with a mural of Ms Munro-Keays’ late father Stephen who succumbed to motor neurone disease last year.
“That was really hard for [Amber] and hard for us, it happened quickly and very abrupt,” Mr James said.
“The extension was built for him … so that he didn’t have to go to palliative care but he didn’t make it. She just wanted to put a bit of a tribute there for him.”
The couple moved from the Sutherland Shire six years ago and love the “bohemian feel” of Port Kembla, Mr James likening it to Newtown.
He said the artwork reflects the pair’s personalities and also hopes his two-year-old Mason is “inspired by creativity” by the refreshed home.
“It’s one of those win-win things where we hope people look at it and they’re happy, and they say ‘it’s awesome and I’m glad people have got the balls to do that with my house’,” Mr James said.
Painting large walls is not something foreign to self-taught artist AYJAY whose folio includes giant murals in Port Kembla’s Wentworth Lane, Corrimal and Wollongong.
This particular work took him around 65 hours to complete over a week with many people stopping by to ask what he was doing.
“I think most people really enjoyed seeing something like that because it’s outside the box and not something you usually see every day,” AYJAY said.
“The feedback that I got, people relaly like it - it’s bright, it’s happy and it’s different.”
Mr James and Ms Munro-Keays hope their contribution to brightening the suburb encourages others to shine a light on motor nuerone disease and also paint something quirky (though Mr James said it doesn’t need to be as drastic as a house).
Their home will be lit up for display on Friday June 30 and Saturday July 1 from 7pm to 9:30pm for people to see.
Desiree Savage
At the helm of Australia's premier publication for people aged over 55, covering hard hitting issues, travel, lifestyle and entertainment. Got a hot tip? Email me - edit@TheSenior.com.au
At the helm of Australia's premier publication for people aged over 55, covering hard hitting issues, travel, lifestyle and entertainment. Got a hot tip? Email me - edit@TheSenior.com.au
