Mother Earth mural complete
About 80 litres of paint and 150 cans of spraypaint later, and the Queen St carpark mural is finished.
The mural on the wall of the carpark between UCOL and consulting firm Good Earth Matters is 33 metres long and 5m high.
The piece was done by illustrators Gemma Farrell and Mikal Carter and took the pair about 28 days over two months to complete. The days were long too, between eight to 12 hours.
After being approached by Good Earth Matters, Farrell said they came up with the idea for a Mother Earth character.
‘‘We liked the idea of having the dress flow into the river,’’ Carter said.
Carter said the scale of the project presented challenges as well as having to combat the weather. ‘‘We got rained out a lot.’’ The pair said it was the biggest piece they had ever done and their first outdoors. Seeing the finished product made it all worth it.
‘‘It is really satisfying,’’ Farrell said.
Good Earth Matters principal David Bridges said their company was celebrating 20 years and ‘‘wanted to do something that would give back to the community’’. And so began discussions with Palmerston North City Council about what they could do and the idea of a mural was suggested.
Bridges said they wanted something that reflected the aims and aspirations of the community.
‘‘It is about Mother Earth, about the land, about the river, and the connection with the community to the river.’’
Needless to say, the company was pleased with the result. ‘‘The detail is just incredible, I don’t think any of us envisioned we would fill the wall.’’
Bridges said they were happy to work in partnership with the council and support the revitalisation of the street.
He also praised the two painters for their work and their professionalism.