By Deena Coster
More than 20 years ago, Michael Montgomerie starting chasing his dream to become a mural artist and while his work graces walls around the globe, it’s the hometown creations which carry special significance to him.
For the past week, and for the rest of this month at least, Montgomerie is in full swing creating his latest artwork – a four-sided mural covering the toilet block at Waitara’s Marine Park.
Last year, a $25,000 grant from the Waitara community board’s discretionary fund saw Montgomerie’s vision for the cream-coloured canvas become reality.
The front of the block is the first phase, which Montgomerie hoped to have finished by the end of the week. The design features the tūī, Taranaki Maunga, and the pink sunsets which can be seen on certain nights across the town.
The remaining sides of the mural will showcase other symbols which make the town unique.
From the grey heron, which is closely aligned to Manukorihi Intermediate, to a perfect ocean wave to mark the local surfing culture, along with the important role Tangaroa played in daily life.
“Every side has a meaning behind it, and it’s a story for young ones to learn about.”
While he had hoped to have the entire project completed by the end of the school holidays, he was unsure if this would be possible, mainly because of how time-consuming some of the finer detail was to do.
The mural is not the first the airbrush artist had done in Waitara, with some of his handiwork on the outside of the North Taranaki Community House, on the corner of Browne and McLean Sts.
Montgomerie, who teaches at Spotswood College, first developed a love of art at secondary school.
The former Waitara High School student said he went to learn from the best airbrush artists in Las Vegas, a place he has returned to three times in order to hone his technique.
“Those guys are the best in the world and I learned off them, and I just kept developing myself.”
And his resulting works can now be seen across the globe, including in California, Queensland, London and Dubai.
But telling the stories of the town where he was raised via the end of his airbrush gun was just as gratifying.
“I want to do stuff which has more meaning and connection to the community,” he said.
“I’m never happy with where I’m at, and I want to keep planning for bigger projects in Waitara.”
