If you didn’t already know, there’s a department store for monsters and mythical creatures in Columbia, Maryland.
This week, the humans working there unveiled a new surprise for visitors – a mural half the length of a football field.
The new art adorns the front of an old Safeway grocery store in the Long Reach Village Center that was turned into an art attraction in September, titled the “DoodleHATCH Department Store for Mythical Creatures, Time Travelers and Galactic Tourists.”
Lee Andersen, founder of ManneqART, the non-profit that supports DoodleHATCH, said she’s excited to see the mural come to life.
“There’s a cyclops who’s missing an eye and there’s a little goblin throughout the mural that’s running away with the eye and another one that’s blowing the raspberry the Cyclops,” Andersen said.
The painting was unveiled during a ceremony on April 1, but it was not an April Fool’s joke.
The Maryland State Arts Council sponsored the mural and provided funding for the boards that the mural was painted on, as well as the paint.
The mural was designed by artist Justin Nepomuceno. It’s his first mural.
“I think having this giant, kind of bold, colorful mural, right against the main road will really kind of show the start of this overall revitalization of this center,” Nepomuceno said.
