A mural for a little princess

Being the first child born in the new maternity wing of Marshall Medical Center comes with special privileges, one of which is having a mural painted just for you.

Hand-painted on canvas by local artist Cathie Urquhart of Cathie Urquhart Murals and More, the mural was presented to parents Raman and Sakshi Chopra of El Dorado, their two sons, and their baby daughter Siya.

Siya, born on Jan. 15, was the first baby born in the new maternity wing at Marshall. Her parents were given a gift certificate from Urquhart as a parting present from the hospital. According to Carrie Poggio, public information officer for Marshall, the medical center gave gift baskets to the first three babies born in its new facility.

Urquhart said once a year she selects a project to recognize the efforts made by community organizations with an emphasis on those that focus on family and children. This year she chose to emphasize Marshall’s new maternity wing after visiting the facility.

“I went to the grand opening and got caught up with how beautiful it is,” she said. “It seemed fitting to donate a wall mural to celebrate the first baby born in this family friendly center.”

Urquhart has a business painting murals in people’s homes such as growth charts, hand prints or scenery.

She said she gave the Chopras a choice of scenes to choose from and they chose the one featuring the little princess gazing at her castle which took her six to eight hours to complete. She paints in a studio located in a clothing and gift store called Dandelions in Cameron Park.

Grateful but shy, the Chopra family thanked Urquhart and marveled at her work when they received the finished mural at their home on March 6. “It feels good,” said Sakshi as she unrolled the mural and smiled.

Still undecided was where the mural would be hung although their two sons, Kartik, 9, and Rishav, 12, thought it should go in their room.

“There’s the beautiful princess,” said Kartik, pointing at the mural. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

Contact Dawn Hodson at 530-344-5071 or dhodson@mtdemocrat.net. Follow @DHodsonMtDemo on Twitter.