The artist who replaced Taylor Swift with Brad Paisley on a Nashville mural honouring country music legends wants to give Swift a mural of her own.
Tim Davis of DaVinci Works came under fire from Swift fans even though the decision to erase Swift from the mural was made by the owners of the Legends Corner bar.
“The changes are not up to me,” Davis told USA Today via email. “They have had the intention from the start to change it up once in awhile, taking some artists off and adding others.”
Davis has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $35,000 U.S. for the creation of a mural elsewhere in Nashville honouring Swift.
“I have heard many complaints here in Nashville about Taylor being on the wall with country legends since she is currently focused mainly on pop,” he said. “Some inebriated bar hoppers have spit on her image specifically, feeling betrayed by her venture from country. I guess this is to be expected, but by in large, the people of Nashville love her, as do I.”
On the GoFundMe page, Davis wrote: “As a music powerhouse in her own right, and having introduced many to the country music genre, she should be featured on a prominent mural in Music City that showcases both her country roots, and her earned status as the queen of pop.”
Swift’s removal from the Legends Corner mural was first noted by Nashville’s WZTV on Dec. 23.
In addition to the Paisley, the mural currently features Tim McGraw, Loretta Lynn, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Keith Urban, Merle Haggard, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks.
Davis said he will be adding two more country artists to the mural once the weather permits.