Mural being painted at Blue Eagle Credit Union

Aila Boyd

aboyd@mainstreetnewspapers.com

A new mural will soon be finished in Salem.

Blue Eagle Credit Union has contracted Jon Murrill to paint a mural on the side of its 2809 W Main Street location.

Murrill, who is based in Roanoke, received his undergraduate degree from Roanoke College and graduate degree from Radford University.

He has been producing murals for several years now, with the goal of celebrating the area’s outdoors and wildlife. He recently finished work on a project on the Roanoke River Greenway for Roanoke.

“The murals are something that’s fairly new to me. My roots are in portraiture. I’ve done portraits for years. Through my previous work I felt like I wasn’t getting the same type of engagement with the public and community. As a local artist, it’s really important for me to interact with the community and create pieces that anybody can see,” Murrill said of his recent expansion into murals.

The credit union approached Murrill for its mural after seeing his work on the greenway. “There’s not a whole lot of public artwork in Salem,” he said, adding that he hopes more projects like his will start to spring up around the city. “This is my first mural in the Salem area. I’m excited to be contributing to the arts culture and environment in Salem now.”

While Murrill had quite a bit of artistic freedom, the credit union asked him to create a mural that would be “visually stumming” and would “bring joy to everyone passing by.”

“We came up with a beautiful concept that features hawks and birds of the area, with the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the text it says ‘Explore the Blue Ridge’ in big blue letters. It’s very colorful. I think it’s going to standout nicely,” he explained.

The mural will be 25 feet long and 24 feet tall at its highest point. Murrill estimates he will have put in 70 to 80 hours into the mural once it’s complete.

“We are so excited to launch this project with Jon at our Salem office. It’s the perfect canvas, and area, to artfully engage with the community. At Blue Eagle Credit Union we like to See Banking Differently. This extends to the way we support and participate in the communities we serve,” Laurissa Thompson, director of marketing at Blue Eagle Credit Union, said. “Creating a mural to showcase our region in an area that has limited artwork is a perfect way to illustrate seeing things differently. Jon has demonstrated he is a master at murals and capturing a timeless representation of the region. He clearly has a passion for art and connecting with others through art. We couldn’t be more pleased with how the mural is coming together, and can’t wait for the community to come enjoy the beauty of Jon’s artwork, take a photo with it, and share it with others.”

If all goes according to plan, the mural will be finished by the end of the month.