Steve Lawes, Emerging Mural Artist, shares his Skills-Share Mural Story

Completing a mural as a part of the Skill Share programme has been an amazing experience. Getting to work alongside 3 great artists with very different styles to me helped me to see how approaching large scale murals can be done in different ways.

Working with Zabou was truly brilliant; she's offered excellent technical and practical advice while also encouraging us to develop our own personal approach, emphasising there is no one size fits all way to do murals.

I'm looking forward to finding more new ways to design and adapt Celtic and medieval art for murals, blowing up what I tend to make at a tiny scale to the extra large! Thanks again for the opportunity.

Written by Steve Lawes, a visual artist and researcher whose work explores ancient and medieval British history and contemporary culture. Steve was selected by Lead Skill-Share Mural Artist, Zabou, as one of three commissioned local artists (alongside Hayley Wells and Pete Lee) to take part in a unique Skills-Share Mural opportunity. Together they received mentorship and training from Zabou to increase both confidence and skills in creating large-scale public artworks. The completed 4-sided mural sits along Kings Head Walk, Chelmsford, CM2 6FH.

This mural is one of four, co-created with communities across the district of Chelmsford in 2026, as part of Concrete Canvas: Reimagined.

Concrete Canvas: Reimagined is part of the Young Cultural Changemakers Programme, produced by Culture Chelmsford and SPARK!, in collaboration with Chelmsford For You & Concrete Canvas, funded by Arts Council England, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford City Council, Chelmsford College, Chelmsford For You, Great Baddow Parish Council, Mister Gees Foundation and sponsored by Alfreshco, Community RePaint, Thirst Drinks Syndicate and Wickes.