New art underway at site of painted-over mural

Since Friday, San Marcos, Texas-based muralist Austin Sepulveda has been working on a new design for 400 W. Walnut St.

It is the site where a mural honoring late Springfield artist Robert E. Smith was recently painted over at the direction of building owner David Pere. Pere is CEO of FMTM LLC, which stands for From Military to Millionaire, a financial consulting firm for veterans and servicemembers that he plans to open in the building.

Sepulveda’s design centers on a colorful eagle and is titled “Isaiah,” after Bible verse Isaiah 40:31, which says that those who hope in the Lord “will soar on wings like eagles,” Pere said.

The artist is aiming for completion in time for an unveiling Saturday morning after 10 a.m., and Pere expressed enthusiasm for the work in progress.

“I think it is turning out dope,” Pere said. “Austin is incredibly talented, and we are meeting other artists in the area and lots of community members.”

The emerging image received a positive review from Jesse Tyler, co-founder of Springfield lifestyle brand company SGFCO LLC and one of the leaders, with real estate agent Nicole Brown, of an effort to replace the painted-over Smith commemorative mural with a new version of the mural located elsewhere downtown.

“I took a look at it yesterday afternoon and was talking to David’s team that was out there,” Tyler said in a phone interview today. “It looks really good. It’s done professionally and has a cool look to it. That’s reassuring. It’s a bold painting, but it doesn’t feel out of place.”

Tyler said his group that is working on the replacement mural has not yet chosen a site to place it.

“We have a few options we’re looking at but haven’t picked one yet,” he said. “We’re going through the process of getting the right permissions and assessing the ability of wherever it goes to be maintained long-term and seeing what kind of commitments we can get there.”

For now, the team is going through due diligence before coming up with a final decision on location, Tyler said.

An artist has not yet been chosen for the new image, with Tyler saying that will come after the space is figured out.

“There’s some variables related to scale and positioning,” he said.

He added that the group’s first choice to paint the mural would be a local artist, and that’s what he expects to see happen.

Pere himself remains the top donor on the GoFundMe site titled “Recreate Downtown Springfield’s Robert E. Smith Mural,” which had raised over $17,000 as of 9:30 a.m. today. Pere’s name had previously been attached to the top-level donation of $5,000, but the contribution in that amount is now listed on GoFundMe as anonymous.

Combined with a Community Foundation of the Ozarks fund, titled the Ozarks Public Art Protection Fund, total money collected for the Smith replacement mural tops $20,000, Tyler said.