Imperial Oil's Sarnia site has partnered with a local artist to enhance one of its tanks with a mural.
Imperial Sarnia Public and Government Affairs Manager Kristina Zimmer said planning for the project started about a year ago.
"We recently constructed a new tank near Indian Road, where the overpass is, essentially coming in and out of Sarnia," Zimmer said. "When we were constructing the tank, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to showcase something that essentially captures the spirit of Sarnia."
Zimmer said Imperial worked with Kennady Rayn (Osborne) of Seventh Rayn Design Co. last year on the company's turnaround logo and decided to reach out to her again about the mural.
In her design, Rayn included local elements such as the waterfront, a sunset, the Blue Water Bridge, and a blue heron (usually seen at Canatara Park).
"With all of these images together, we were really impressed with how it told the story about Sarnia's natural beauty, the outdoor lifestyle that people enjoy this time of year, and really a sense of place that residents and visitors associate with Sarnia," Zimmer said.
The design process itself started a few months ago.
"The process is actually quite intricate," Zimmer said. "The mural is something she paints on a canvas, and then there's a specialty photography process that goes into this. From that, we worked with a sign company to create a decal -- that's what's installed on the tank."
Zimmer said the decal was installed in pieces.
The installation process started last week after being delayed by recent heavy rainfall. As of September 10, the process was about 1/3 of the way complete, with about 60 feet left to place.
Zimmer said they're planning to host an off-site unveiling ceremony in early October.
"We can't just bring the general public in (to the tank site) and it's a really busy roadway, so what we're looking at doing is having an off-site unveiling and bringing Kennady's painting that she created for this artwork, as well as some photos," Zimmer said.
In the meantime, the mural will be visible to motorists on Indian Road.
