Creating a mural featuring former President Barack Obama and the late Anthony Bourdain was an incredible experience for graffiti artist Lee Beard.
“This mural was such an honor to paint, I grew up in Jamaica Plain on South Huntington,” said Beard who goes by SOEMS, and a member of the AOA Supply art collective. “It’s always nice to be able to come back to where I learned the ropes of mural making, and being into the graffiti scene.”
The mural is behind Burritos Pizzeria on Washington Street, and features a scene from when Obama and Bourdain got together for a meal in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The idea for the mural came from developer Lee Goodman, who hired SOEMS and chose the quotes, which are about finding common ground with people. Said Goodman, “I just like [both of the quotes] and thought it would look cool there, and the owner [of the building] was fine with it.”
Goodman is in the midst of redeveloping the old Doyle’s Cafe property next to the mural’s building, and Goodman liked the idea of making the glasses an ode to Doyle’s and Midway Cafe, which is a few feet away from the restaurant.
SOEMS started the mural last summer and worked through the winter at all hours, sometimes with a headlamp into dark evenings. He finished the mural on June 24, and as he was finishing it, some Doyle’s family members happen to stop by.
“He and his wife were in awe of the mural being painted,” said SOEMS.
