A reader was surprised the other day when they spotted a mural on a newish house on the northeast corner of Smedley & Fitzwater. Murals, from what we understand, are a complex undertaking that typically takes considerable planning and a decent amount of time to complete. That’s to say that they typically don’t pop up overnight. But that’s just what has seemingly happened here. Or have we just not visited this block in the last few weeks?

Whoa

It’s true that the mural covers an otherwise uninspiring blank wall, and Mr. Mandela is certainly the type of international figure deserving depiction in public art. But if you look a little more closely at the new piece, you’ll notice that it has one unfortunate feature that we hope is corrected soon.

Missed a couple of drips there. Perhaps some painters tape would have helped?

From the looks of it, the mural was nearly completed when it was caught in an unexpected downpour. Or else the artist simply didn’t do a good job preventing paint drips? Eh, we’re probably going to have to go with the former. Hopefully, the artist will soon return to this piece and perform the necessary touch ups, finishing the background and cleaning the bricks below.

Meanwhile, across the street, the three Fitz4 homes currently under construction have been fully framed out. Look for bricks in the coming weeks. Sadly, it doesn’t look like any of these homes will have the necessary space to accommodate a mural to pair with Mr. Mandela across the street.

Fitz4 homes

Ah well, so it goes.