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In a city with more than 2,800 murals painted, the sights of crooners Frank Sinatra, Mario Lanza or former mayor Frank Rizzo on the side of a building is not uncommon.
However, Martin Rodriguez, of the 2000 block of South Fifth Street, put his artistic expressions into his own hands, paining a mural of a beach scene in his own backyard.
“We have a bare wall, a plain wall, so my husband started drawing and since there are murals everywhere, we went with it,” his wife Blanca Rodriguez said.
The idea for the mural came when the family bought a plastic door cover from the dollar store and Martin, who has no artistic background, decided to see if he could paint an image.
“It’s an island, flip-flops, kids’ toys, images as if people were there,” Bianca said. “It turned out cute.”
Martin, a 45-year-old truck driver by trade, finished the colorful tropical scene in a week in June.
Martin, who has lived on the block for five years with his family, has received a warm reaction to his masterpiece.
“The neighbors liked it, instead of looking at a plain wall,” he said.
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