The face of the next Paisley First Mural is revealed

The face of our next giant mural…and the winner is….

Seven year old Eva Rose Ross from Paisley has been announced as the face of the next Paisley First giant mural.

Renowned local artist Caroline Gormley will team up with artist Alexander Guy to complete the next mural in the Paisley First Wall Series.

Eva Rose was picked following the town’s Buddie competition, asking young people under 18 in Paisley to send in photographs in their best Buddie pose, as previously sketched by Caroline.

The youngster will be commemorated on the next giant mural on the gable wall next to Allan’s Snack Bar on Storie Street, a popular fish and chip shop in the town.

Caroline said:” I thought Eva Rose’s photograph was great. It was very natural…and I liked her attitude. She just seemed so carefree and happy.”

“This will be a great piece of public art. It’s really for the community.”

“It’s not just a nice picture. It will show how children are the future of Paisley and how younger generations will uphold the town’s heritage in the future.”

Eva Rose, who attends St Fergus Primary School, said: “I love Paisley and I am always telling everyone how great the town is.”

“I loved the Lions last year and now I can’t believe that I have won the competition to be on the wall.”

Proud mum Lee-Ann, who runs Uptown Barbers in the town’s High Street, said:” We are thrilled that Eva Rose has been chosen to be the face of the next mural. We are so happy for her.”

“She is a proud Paisley Buddie and always loves getting involved in anything going on in the town.”

Work is due to get underway on the wall at Storie Street today, Monday 20^th March, with the project expected to take around two weeks to complete.

Paisley First’s Melanie Hughes who is leading the art murals project said:” We’ve had some fabulous entries from young people across Renfrewshire.  It’s great to see the community getting behind our murals and local children taking an interest in the town. There will be more community involvement in the future.”

left to right – Christopher Ross, Lee-Ann Redmond, Paisley First BID Manager Andrew Mitchell, Buddie Competition Winner Eva Rose Ross, Paisley First Chairman Ian Henderson and artist Caroline Gormley

Paisley First Chairman Ian Henderson added: “The murals are proving popular with visitors and Buddies alike and have become a real talking point.”

“Projects like this are a great way to get people involved in the regeneration of Paisley, improve the town’s image and get families back into the town centre.”

• The first mural is situated at Johnston Street and depicts a kingfisher perched next to thread woven in between the branches, while the distinctive Coats Memorial Church appears in the background. This was completed by local artist Mark Worst with assistance from Ross Dinnett.

• The Paisley First Business Improvement District (BID) is a non-profit organisation comprised of over 600 businesses from within Paisley town centre. Businesses within a defined area work together and invest collectively in priority issues they themselves have identified and agreed upon.
• There is a range of issues that BIDs across the world seek to address; from reducing business costs, making town centres safer and cleaner to introducing proactive marketing and promotional campaigns allied to events, creating new platforms for economic growth
• There are 30 BIDs in existence in Scotland at present and many being developed across a range of sectors