'I've painted a mural where I had my first job'

Artist Rob Fenton is no stranger to big projects - most recently he has been part of the team behind the new look Nemesis at Alton Towers.

For two decades though he has been using Stoke-on-Trent as his canvas, creating the likes of the Belstaff in Longton. But, this weekend he is back where artistic inspiration first struck.

For his latest work, as part of the celebrations of the city's 100th birthday, has been unveiled at The Potteries Shopping Centre, where he used to work before taking up the artist life.

"To actually come back it's kind of like a full circle moment to me where I am able to create work in the centre that gave my career a push when I was 16," Mr Fenton said.

He and the shopping centre have collaborated to highlight 10 points they believe are key in the city across the century.

The project, entitled The Mural, has taken a few weeks to complete because of its sheer size.

"We've had some really big days, but the feedback from the public has been superb," Mr Fenton said.

The work has been designed to be a mis-mash of dates, so its not in chronological order and also merges different styles together.

"We've got a mix of styles as well some photo-realism then we go into more graphic work and then a more illustrative," the artist said.

Many of the figures that make Stoke-on -Trent the city it is today feature, including Robbie Williams, Josiah Wedgwood and John Rudge.

Whilst Mr Fenton has been the main force behind the work, he brought in other local talent such as his partner Kirsty Fenton and Ethan Lemon.

They assisted on his favourite part of the mural, which was based around the film adaption of Arnold Bennett book The Card.

He said: "I really like the colourway and the mix of photo-realism of graphic background".

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