Latics supporter commissions ‘Stadium Portraits’ to capture iconic moment 30 years on.
Andrew Mellor, a lifelong fan, is now the proud owner of the penalty kick that became one of the most important goals in the club’s history, a moment in time where everyone remembers where they were when it hit the back of the net.
Securing the Second Division title in dramatic circumstances, Andrew spoke to his now friend and professional Yorkshire artist Paul Town, who specialises in stadium and sport artwork, to capture the moment that meant so much to him from the memorable photo by the Oldham Chronicle.
Presented with the original oil painting at Boundary Park just after the 30th anniversary, he spoke of his delight with the finished product; “He’s done a brilliant job on what is an iconic image in Oldham’s history.
“I came up from Bristol on the day to watch it unfold with my very own eyes and always remember the photo in the paper. With that in mind, a few years ago I had the idea of doing this after seeing Paul’s superb work and thought it’d make a great subject piece.
“It also coincides as a nice 60th birthday present for myself, so now I’m just proud to be able to enjoy and relive the moment every time I see it.”
Whilst Paul who works with a number of clients to capture memories, emotions and echoes from the past, added; “We’ve built up a rapport over the last few years on social media and my business has also taken off during that time working with many clubs around the country.
“A lot of my business is based around nostalgia and I always try to get inside the mind of the fan and how important it is to them whenever I get a new commission.
“I love painting football stadium’s like Boundary Park, especially with the floodlights which is one of my favourite parts alongside Neil striking the ball.”
To view the work from Stadium Portraits, in particular his Oldham Athletic pieces, please click here.
Oldham Athletic would also like to thank Andrew for gifting one of the prints to the club to be on show inside Boundary Park.