FIVE new murals have been completed as part of a River Park Project-funded initiative to bring a toilet block to life.
Krishna Malla, also known as Tech Moon, was tasked with spray painting native riverside creatures on the Salisbury Central Car Park public toilets to brighten up the area as part of the Environment Agency's River Park Project.
The 38-year-old Bournemouth-based artist worked alongside Studio Response to refine the mural's design.
After almost two months of hard work, Krishna has brought five creatures to life, complete with plants native to Salisbury including Water Crows Foot and Yellow Flags and a decorative marble border.
Krishna, who has been drawing since he was old enough to hold a pencil, started the kingfisher mural on March 4 and worked his way round the block.
The other walls feature an Atlantic salmon, a European otter, a banded demoiselle and a grey heron.
"It's been great to introduce my work into Salisbury and paint for the Environment Agency. A lot of the subjects in my work are themed on nature so this was an ideal client for me," said Krishna.
He initially estimated the work would take six weeks but poor weather caused some delays and Wiltshire Council temporarily defaced his kingfisher artwork by "mistake".
Read more: Wiltshire Council admits Salisbury mural sign was a 'mistake'
Despite this, Krishna's looking forward to returning to the city to paint more.
Studio Response helped steer the project in the right direction since Krishna's first design was "a lot more organic".
"It featured lots of greens and foliage, yet the plants I chose weren't all native to Salisbury so I switched it up a bit and experimented with gold ornamental plant decorations instead," he explained.
"These compliment the marble sculpture and work really well to give the murals a classical timeless look."
This was the first major piece of artwork that Krishna has been commissioned to make in Salisbury but he has decorated large buildings across Bournemouth and Boscombe in the past.
"Meeting the people of Salisbury has been amazing, so many people stopped to talk and ask questions, and the feedback has been really positive which helped drive the energy in this during some very difficult weather," he said.
The Art of Salisbury River Park will be showcased at The Young Gallery, in Salisbury Library, which opens on May 23.
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