Essex artist on new mural of the Queen: "I wanted to capture her softness, beauty and personality"
It's on a street in Rochford
An artist from Essex has unveiled a new mural in memory of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Dan Kitchener, also known as Dank, debuted a portrait of Her Majesty on West Street, Rochford.
It shows the country's longest serving monarch in her younger years.
Dan told us why he painted the tribute: "I heard the sad news about the Queen's passing when I was in my studio around 7:00 PM in the evening.
"The news didn't really sink in until the next morning, when I woke up. I was looking at social media on my phone and this black and white image of the Queen came up.
"Something about that image really touched me and resonated with me - I think it was the sparkle in her eye, and then, even though I had a busy schedule of artwork in the studio that day, I felt compelled to paint the mural!"
Dan explains his choice to work from a photo of the Queen when she was in her twenties, rather than a newer image: "The image just really captured her spirit.
"The photographs of her that I've seen in the later years of her life, for me, didn't have quite such an energy to them, so I think that's what I wanted to capture: that softness and that beauty and her personality too."
The artist says he's had a very positive reaction from the public to the piece: " I've had an absolutely phenomenal reaction!
"Once people realised what I was painting, I had all sorts of cars stopping, including police cars, giving me thumbs up. I also had a lot of lovely people stopping to chat to me.
"One elderly lady called Heather, who used to be a local councillor, stopped, held my hand and asked me to take my cap off. When I did, she kissed me on my head and thanked me for doing the mural.
"It was quite an emotional time to paint it and then everyone's reactions have been quite emotional as well."
He hopes the artwork will allow people to remember Queen Elizabeth II not just as a Queen, but also as a person: "She was a human being.
"Obviously she's a monarch, so I think people might feel removed from her because of that. She's part of the top tiers of society, as such, but I feel like this humanises her, and helps people see her in a different way."