Dolly Parton mural draws visitors to Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - A mural of Dolly Parton is now on display on the side of a home on Pine Street in Oregon Hill, drawing visitors from across the area.

The house is decorated with Halloween decorations, including pumpkins, skeletons and ghosts, alongside the new mural.

Stephanie Harrington owns the home.

She said she asked local artist Jered Fykes, also known as “Jerro,” to paint the mural in memory of Parton after the singer’s passing.

“We’re really excited that it’s out and done and we plan to keep it up here for many, many years,” Harrington said.

The mural is based on a black and white photograph of Parton, colorized and rendered in bright colors.

Fykes finished the mural in under two weeks.

“I’m really happy how it turned out,” Fykes said. “Throughout the process, it was really kind of just fun bouncing around and trying to make sure that she didn’t end up looking like someone completely different. And also just sharing her joy and trying to keep it balanced and just display the work properly.”

Fykes said the design started from a black and white photo, since he could not find a color version.

“I just made up what I know her, you know, what her to look like,” Fykes said. “I saw the jean jacket. So I kind of just based the colors how I want it to, which gave me some fun freedom.”

People have been stopping by the mural to take photos, according to Harrington.

“I think the reason people love Dolly, even if they’re not really a fan of country music, is what she represented,” Harrington said. “She represented community. She represented involvement, diversity, and the fact that her Imagination Library has been able to give so many books, millions of books across the world, we really take inspiration in Dolly.”

Harrington said Parton’s Imagination Library has distributed about 350 million books.

Harrington said Parton was “all about love.”

“So when people drive by and see the Dolly mural, what I hope that they’ll see and reflect upon is Dolly’s spirit, Dolly’s giving, Dolly’s love,” Harrington said. “What I hope people will take when they see this mural is take away a little bit of the love that Dolly Parton left for all of us.”

Fykes said people stopped by as he painted to share their own stories about Parton.

“I’m just like grateful to bless the city and kind of just provide Richmond, which is such an awesome city to have a Dolly Parton mural in,” Fykes said. “So I’m just grateful and excited to see kind of where it goes after this.”

Fykes also said the recognition the mural has received means a lot to him as an artist.

“It’s funny that it’s a representation of someone. I think that’s the connection, like people are familiar with it,” Fykes said. “I’m really grateful that one, if it wasn’t something that people liked, Dolly or not Dolly, they wouldn’t be that excited. If it really didn’t look good, then, so that’s a little pat on the back for myself.”

Harrington has hosted an annual holiday party since 2006 where guests bring toys donated to the Richmond Fire Department for Toys for Tots. Last year’s party theme was Dolly Parton.

This year’s party will be held at Basic City Brewing on Dec. 5. Harrington said the event is open to the public and is disco themed, and she is encouraging people to attend or donate unwrapped toys for children in Richmond.

Harrington said she also collects books for children in addition to toys, inspired by Parton’s Imagination Library.

Fykes is in talks with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Richmond to paint a mural there as well.