The third time was the charm for local artist Pam Locke.

After having entered into the poster design contest for the Double Decker Arts Festival for the past two years, Locke’s vivid design was chosen to represent the event this year.

Locke has been working as a graphic artist since 1977, but turned to watercolor painting almost a decade ago when her sons left home for college.

“Once they left the house and I was no longer a soccer mom or a swim mom or a band mom, in my spare time I could paint,” Locke said.

She describes her work as being “bright and intense in color with tight designs.”

When tackling the design for the Arts Festival she didn’t want the image to be too busy. Eventually, the winning design came to her after thinking over it for two weeks.

“Once I finally decided on something, it took a couple of days,” she said. “Everything flows from the bus: the art, the music, the food, so that was the thought behind the work.”

As for her design being chosen to represent the festival this year, Locke says it came as something of a surprise.

“I had it on my mind that I wasn’t going to win again this year,” she said. “When I did win, I was very honored that my artwork was so well-liked that they would choose it. I’m excited about this opportunity to help Oxford be the host for north Mississippi and this festival.”