Veteran Rochester mural artist Kerry Nicholson is returning to the Rochester Mural Festival to defend his 2021 title.
Mr Nicholson, who won first place for his 2021 mural titled Imagination, is back for the seventh time.
“I’ve won the first prize twice and I’ve received the viewer's choice probably three times. I’ve also been the runner up twice as well,” he said.
Mr Nicholson is not shy about his competitive nature when entering into a mural contest.
“I like competition. I like competing against other people and I like to win but I try to be fair about it,” he said.
Mr Nicholson, who is based in Toowoomba, Queensland, has travelled nationally and internationally to Tasmania, South Australia and New Zealand to compete in mural festivals.
“I’ve been to Sheffield in Tasmania six or seven times. I’ve never won that competition, but I’ve been runner-up twice and the viewer’s choice two or three times. I’ve been to the festival over in Jamestown in South Australia and I’ve won that twice and got the viewer's choice a couple of times too.
“The festival that they held in Queensland, I’ve been to three times and won it once.
“And in New Zealand, I won that the last time I was there as well, I’ve been there three times.”
When he’s not competing in festivals, Mr Nicholson continues to make murals under the business name Nicholson Art Company.
Mr Nicholson, his son and his brother work together to create murals, which is the primary function of the business.
“That’s what we do all year round – we paint murals,” Mr Nicholson said.
“We’ve just finished a mural that was 40 metres x 6 metres in Pittsworth and we’re doing another one on corrugated iron at a little place called Tannymorel.
“We did another one last year that was 130 metres long by 3.5 metres high. When we come down to do the one in Victoria, that’s not very big for us.”
In their personal mural business, the Nicholsons are provided with a guide of what they should be painting.
“The one we’re doing right now in Tannymorel is of an old hay shed that used to supply hay to the local railway station,” Mr Nicholson said.
“They want us to paint the train that used to come through here and then they said to us that they wanted us to depict something with timber, coal, wheat, calves and pigs because that’s what used to get transported by that train.”
But for the Rochester Mural Festival, Mr Nicholson has not received a guide – only a theme.
The theme this year is ‘Paint us a Song’, which asks artists to paint something in relation to a song they admire.
“What happens is, they give you a theme and then you do a painting on that theme and then you submit that,” he said.
“It’s the same format and layout of the mural that you are wanting to paint, but a smaller version of it.”
Mr Nicholson explains that sticking to the theme is the most crucial element when submitting your artwork.
“It’s not always about having the best mural – it’s about whether or not the mural meets the criteria,” he said.
“It needs to tell the correct story.”
When Mr Nicholson finds out the theme of the year, he likes to bounce off ideas with his brother and son.
He said that by brainstorming and discussing concepts with his family, he gains a different perspective that he may not have ever thought of himself.
“Sometimes, some of those ideas are real gems,” he said.
This year, Mr Nicholson thinks there will be some serious talent at the festival.
“I’ve seen some of the names of the other people and there are some really quality artists this year, so it’s going to be a fair competition.”
Mr Nicholson has always been a big fan of the Rochester Mural Festival and the friendly co-ordinators of the event.
“One thing I will say, is that the committee down there are exceptionally good,” he said.
“They come around with water for you all the time and they just honestly really look after you.
“I couldn’t be happier because they are all really decent people.
“The quality of the paint that they provide you with is really good as well.”
The clue for Mr Nicholson’s 2022 mural for the ‘Paint us a Song’ is that it is a song created by a popular band.
“It’s a really artistic song,” he said.
“It lends itself to a lot of artistic imagery. It has so many visual impacts to it.”