Since artist Jimmy DVate started painting the Rochester Silo, the crowds have been gathering in town to get a first-hand glimpse of his larger than life artwork.
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Overlooking the town now sits an azure kingfisher with a backdrop of the banks of the Campaspe River and Rochester’s iconic red bridge.
Wayne McDonald of Rochester recently moved to the town from South Australia and is more than impressed with the progress of the silo painting.
“What the artist is doing is brilliant,” Mr McDonald said.
“I’ve seen some of the other silos part of the trail in Brim and Rupanyup, and it has been a terrific boom for smaller towns.
“This is a really good move for Rochester.”
One of the most noticeable aspects of the project so far has been the amount of cars travelling through the town stopping to have a closer look.
“People stop to have a coffee and grab a pie from the bakery,” Mr McDonald said.
“It gets people to stop in the town and have a good look.”
Trish Christiansen of Rochester was also impressed with how the artwork was taking shape.
“He is doing such a great job, the bird is local and the red bridge is also a local icon,” Mrs Christiansen said.
With the addition of the silo artwork and the existing annual mural festival, she hoped Rochester would become well known for its art.
Jimmy DVate has spent countless hours hoisting himself up and down the face of the silo with a crane while completing the artwork.
“The first few days the weather was a little bit of an issue, we lost a few days with wind and rain and stuff like that, but I’ve managed to make up time,” DVate said.
“Got all the preparation coats done, the metal primer and all the base colours are on.
“Now I’m finally on the (spray) cans and starting to do all the detailed work.”
DVate’s goal for the artwork was to draw on inspiration from local flora and fauna.
“There’s an azure kingfisher which you can find down on the river and the town’s red bridge,” DVate said.
Spending countless hours aboard a cherry picker, staring at the face of the silo, the image can be hard to get out of his mind.
“It’s one of those things, I spend so much time with it each day and at night I think about what I’m going to do the next day,” he said.
“So I’m constantly thinking about it.
“It has become part of me,” he laughed.
Painting started on June 11 and depending on weather, it is expected to take approximately one month to complete.
Once the artwork is finished it will join a long list of silos across the country which have received makeovers.