Local artists collaborate on Layers of Legacy America 250 mural in Youngstown
Patrick McGlone has been painting for the past 15 years, working as a muralist and sign painter at Overall Paint Co.
He’s spent the last two weeks leading a team of artists on a postcard-style mural on the east facing wall of Purple Cat Disco Garden in downtown Youngstown.
“Every time we’ve been able to paint anything on the walls, it means so much,” McGlone said. “I grew up driving through these streets and seeing these brick walls that were empty. I never would have imagined that I got to put something up here, but to be able to tell Youngstown’s story on the outside of these walls means everything.”
It’s called Layers of Legacy, a hand-painted mural created by four artists at 107 W. Federal St. that celebrates Youngstown’s history, landmarks, culture, and community spirit for America’s 250th anniversary.
“This postcard piece is something that I’ve wanted to do for a really long time,” McGlone said. “It came together when the Economic Action Group approached me about this project. They wanted me to curate this piece with other local artists, and this just seemed like the perfect piece to fit all the stories that we wanted to tell in one piece.”
McGlone worked with Christina Bunevich, Willie Duck Jr. and Daniel Madeline to find a cohesive color palette and style for the mural.
“It was a unique process, definitely a learning process for me,” he said. “I sometimes have one employee that works with me, but I usually mostly go alone, especially in the design process. Working with them and collaborating with them, we needed to form one piece that was cohesive and felt like one mural, while marrying three to four different styles, so it was tough. There were sometimes we had to say, ‘I don’t think that’ll fit, but I do think this would fit.’”
Each of the local artists painted at different times throughout the two-week painting window climbing up on ladders and a man lift.
“Willie Duck, he did the Realty building; his style is very artistic. He’s got this warm, free, not very rigid artistic style. Daniel’s doing the Cinderella bridge which fit perfectly on the W,” McGlone said. “Christina did the N that’ll have molten steel pouring in, and the color palette she used doesn’t make it feel like the traditional steel mill art, but still pays homage to it.”
