AVONDALE — Artist Tony Sparrow recently finished work on Avondale’s newest mural — a wall-sized installation that will be unveiled Saturday — but residents can watch the full evolution of the wall from blank canvas to mural in less than eight minutes before the ceremony begins.
Sparrow’s mural has been on display since he began it in May, but a dedication ceremony from the Avonale Neighborhood Association will make the welcoming art official at the Henry Frerk Sons Warehouse, 3210 N. Troy Ave., at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The “Whoot” mural is at the Kedzie and Belmont avenues Kennedy Expressway underpass in Avondale. The colorful owl design featured the help of several young painters under the direction of Sparrow.
Along with “Whoot," the artist created a living journal during the making of the mural — including a full time-lapse video and dozens of photos taken throughout various stages of installation.
“Day 1 at the Whoot mural at Belmont and Kedzie involves the very glamorous weeding and surrounding area clean up,” Sparrow wrote May 31, including several photos of the bare wall and litter surrounding the site, all of which required hands-on work before the painting could begin.
On June 5, he posted the first images of paint laid onto the underpass canvas.
By the sixth day a clear image of the bright, colorfully patterned owl had taken shape. And by the 13th day, Sparrow and his crew of helpers had wrapped up the neighborhood’s newest welcoming sign.
“I felt pretty strongly the Whoot mural needed something on the small panel that wraps to the Kennedy Expressway Belmont exit so I sketched up an idea over lunch,” Sparrow wrote, posting a last-minute picture of the word “Avondale” added to an extra adjoining section of the wall.
“I hope this little extra element acts as a nice marker for those entering the community of Avondale and as sign post that they are home for those that live in Avondale,” he added.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
