‘I feel like I’ve won already’

For Judy, her debut was a challenge as she’d never attempted a mural of that scale before.

‘‘My main interest is gardening — my husband and I host an open garden once a year so I put down the shovel and pick up the brush for the festival (when it’s on),’’ she said.

‘‘I’m not a professional — I enter to get in, so I feel like I’ve won already.

‘‘My family hangs it on me that there must have only been eight applicants for me to get selected so I’m happy to have been chosen out of the 13 or so that applied.’’

Judy said two years ago was special as there were three generations at the festival — she and her daughter were painting while her mother brought them refreshments.

One of the most daunting aspects of the painting for Judy was the sheer scale of the mural board, as she admitted she found it difficult to translate it from a smaller artwork.

But with a year’s hiatus, Judy had time to do some research and ask around for some tips.

‘‘This year I think I’ve got it down-pat,’’ she said. ‘‘You’re supposedly competing but it’s really just doing what you love doing.’’

As for her interpretation of the theme ‘‘our country life’’, Judy said her mural is inspired by what she did as a child in Rochester. ‘‘There’s so much space, nature and colour in the country — it’s what I think of when I think of the country,’’ she said.

She and other artists will be painting from February 23 until March 2.