A hand-painted mural created by local artists has been revealed outside The Marlowes in the town centre.
The Marlowes Shopping Centre commissioned local artists Anna Schofield and Mark Tanti to create the unique hand drawn/painted mural, which is packed with lots of references to the Hemel Hempstead community.
The mural, which is located outside the north entrance to the centre, aims to celebrate Hemel Hempstead and it’s wonderful, diverse community with references to local attractions and the history of the town alongside a number of key landmarks.
Visitors can expect to spot many of these focal points, including the Kodak Tower, the white Grade II listed cast iron bridge in Gadebridge Park, the steeple of St Mary’s Church plus a red kite, heron and swan.
Local artists
Anna is a self-taught, intuitive, abstract artist, working in mixed media. She expresses raw emotions through her work, commenting on human nature, connection and the journey through life.
Anna exhibits locally, is Herts Visual Arts Dacorum Co-ordinator and curates the Dacorum Creatives Gallery in the Marlowes.
Anna said: “As a resident of Hemel Hempstead for over 15 years, I was delighted to create a design which represented the local community, wildlife and landmarks.
"The design also incorporates Gadebridge Park, the River Gade, the Water Gardens and the Kodak Tower.
"The mural also depicts the cultural diversity in our town as seen in the large portrait designs. We hope our different art styles of street art and abstract bring joy to the people of Hemel."
Mark is a well-known graffiti artist in Hertfordshire. After completing his BA hons Degree in Community Art and Design at Greenwich University, Mark moved to Hertfordshire where he set about establishing his business, Demograffix.
Mark added: “It’s been great to work alongside fellow local artist Anna Schofield, creating a vibrant collaborative piece that represents Hemel and its diversity.
"We’ve received some fantastic comments from the community already and I’m thrilled with the end result.”
The mural has been painted directly onto the hoarding with acrylic and spray paint to create a lovely new feature in the town centre.
Lavinia Douglass, marketing manager at The Marlowes, said: “We’re thrilled to unveil the brand new mural here at The Marlowes and we can’t thank Mark and Anna enough for their hard work and dedication.
"The vibrant piece of art is already proving to be a real talking point amongst customers and passers-by, with many iconic attractions and landmarks included.
"We hope the Hemel community enjoy the fantastic creativity – aiming to help celebrate what a wonderful and diverse community we have.”
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Anna Schofield and Mark Tanti created the unique hand drawn/painted mural Photo: The Marlowes
