Sheffield artist creates powerful mural tribute following tragic death of teenager Cherish Bean

A Sheffield artist has created a mural to honour a 15-year-old who died alongside her teenage sweetheart in a holiday park in Bridlington.

Chris Ahmore, owner of ‘Creative murals and portraits’ has created a powerful piece in tribute to Cherish Bean, that has become a focal point inside mum Devon Aesthetics salon.

Commissioned specifically to honour Cherish, the mural was designed to capture the 15-year-old’s likeness in a detailed black-and-white airbrush portrait.

Artist Chris began with a colour reference image but chose to work in black and white, a style he says allows him to achieve greater depth and realism.

“I started with a colour image but switched it to black and white as that’s where I feel my work is strongest,” he said.

The process began with preparing the wall itself. The space had previously featured a mural of Kylie Jenner, which Chris sanded down and repainted to create a clean base.

From there, he mapped out the portrait, adapting the original image from portrait to landscape format so it would fit the wall properly.

“This one took me longer than usual, but I gave every process care and time because I wanted to get it right,” he explained.

As the mural developed, Chris focused heavily on tonal contrast, deepening shadows to reveal details that might not be immediately visible.

The face became the clear centrepiece of the work, with hours spent refining fine details to ensure accuracy and expression.

“I put a lot into the face detail especially -that was the main focus for me. 110% effort from start to finish.”

While the portrait itself is monochrome, subtle colour has been introduced through the jewellery, where gold and silver tones bring contrast and life to the piece.

Cherish’s name has also been carefully incorporated into the design, layered into a shaded section of the mural using a build-up of lighter and darker tones.

Chris is still adding final touches, including sequins - an idea he had towards the end of the project that he believes will complete the piece.

“I’m going back to add sequins as well. I only had that idea on the last day, but I think it’ll finish it off nicely.”

The mural holds particular significance for the artist, who already had a connection to the family. He had previously worked with them, painting a mural in Cherish’s sister’s bedroom, which led to being approached for this commission.

“I knew the family and had worked for them before, and Devon got in touch saying she needed a mural done.”

While Chris says he puts full effort into every project, this one stood out.

“I do my best for every job anyway, but I really put my all into this one.”

Chris has been working as a full-time artist for the past 10 years, teaching himself his craft from scratch.

He began with paintbrushes before moving into spray cans, eventually specialising in airbrush work to achieve the level of detail seen in the Cherish mural.

“I taught myself everything. Over time I moved from brushes to spray cans, then into airbrush because you can get so much more detail with it.”

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