New Murals on Shanty Bottle Shop Walls Aim to Bring Hope

The two muralists, Tyler Rose and Kevin Pendleton, were commissioned by the owner of Shanty Bottle Shop to paint him and his wife.

DULUTH, Minn. – A new mural has been painted on the outer walls of Shanty Bottle Shop in East Hillside.

It all started when two local tattooists from Zenith City Piercing and Tattoo needed a way to express themselves creatively while their business was shut down during coronavirus.

The two muralists, Tyler Rose and Kevin Pendleton, were commissioned by the owner of Shanty Bottle Shop.

The paintings depict the owner on one side of the building and his wife on the other.

11 total hours went into the spray-painted murals.

The artists hope the murals will bring the community together.

“I feel like if you have nothing to look at and you’re sitting inside looking at the tv all the time it’s going to get worse the quarantine the walls are going to close in on you a little bit so seeing something positive really gives people an opportunity to look forward to what tomorrow brings,” said Taylor Rose, muralist.

Some people might feel spray painting has a negative connotation, but the artists behind the murals hope they can change that.

“There’s really negative stigma when it comes to spray paint art and I think I want to be one of the people, one of the forerunners to show this can be a positive thing and not only can it look nice it can be actual art and not just vandalism,” said Pendleton.

For young artists who would like to do murals, Rose says it is all about dedication.

“Spray painting is a knack you have to practice a lot and that doesn’t mean practicing on bridges but start making a portfolio start drawing things out for owners and starting talking to business owners and showing them what you can do,” said Rose.

The artists have done a total of four murals already this year around the Twin Ports with more planned.