Taking Warrington’s landmarks and making them into art

Darryl Doward, a self-employed graphic designer, began using his lockdown walks to create the prints and now they are being ordered from across the town and from across the pond too.

“When some of my graphic design customers had to close, I found myself with quite a bit of time on my hands so I thought I’d go back to doing my art which is what I used to do at art college and I had neglected it,” said Darryl, who has resided in Grappenhall for 17 years.

“Originally, I started doing oil paintings all over Warrington. Then as a project for myself, I started the prints.”

His first work was a ‘Warrington Wonderground’ piece, as you can imagine based on the London Underground.

The former Padgate resident continued: “I did it for my own amusement and then a mate of mine said he would buy one off me for a Christmas present.

“I put it in the Living in Stockton Heath Facebook group 10 days before Christmas and it went ballistic. We had between 50 and 60 orders.

“People were phoning me all night and I thought that there was an interest in this and I continued selling them.

“Nobody really does these things for places like Warrington.

“I was doing a lot of walks near Latchford Locks and I have always liked the bridge, so I did that.

“I have also done St Wilfrid’s Church in Grappenhall and the iconic Mr Smiths.”

A closer look at some of Darryl's work

Darryl has recently had an order from a former Warrington resident who lives in the Shetlands. Even further afield, he has sent some to the United States and has had enquiries from Australia.

“A lot of people around my age would have appreciated the Mr Smith’s one in particular so I thought I would do that and that has taken off," continued Darryl.

“It got me thinking that it would be nice to make up a calendar for the end of the year.

“Warrington gets a bit of a bad reputation but when you look around, there are quite a lot of places that are nice.

“It’s nice to celebrate your local area. There are lots of nice places to do and I have had lots of suggestions too.”

The 57-year-old is thankful for the support he has received so far.

He added: “You get used to people moaning a bit about Warrington but when it comes to it, people are quite proud of where they are from.

“There are obviously some really talented artists who do watercolours and oil paintings but I think this style is quite unique.

“It’s just nice that people are really appreciative of it and you get a lot of love.

“People seem to really like it but took me back a bit as it was something I started just for a bit of fun for myself over lockdown.”

Darryl can be found on Facebook here.