More than nine years after it was painted, Angel Silva’s mural on the side of a West Lawn supermarket still boasts the detail of skin tones, rose petals, cloth shimmers and more.
That, says Silva of McKinley Park, is why you use high-quality paint.
After nearly a decade, “I’ve seen other murals that have turned completely into two-toned. But this one didn’t,” he says. “You can see the Juan Gabriel face, it still has the really nice skin tones, and the roses, the same thing. I used really good quality spray paint.”
The mural, which is on the K-Buena Supermarket at West Marquette Road and South Kolin Avenue, hasn’t been tagged and is barely peeling. It prominently features the Mexican musician Juan Gabriel, who died in 2016, the year Silva painted the mural. On one side of Gabriel is the Virgin de Guadalupe, a tribute to Silva’s mom. On the other side are two Catrinas: a veiled female and a male mariachi player. They are nods to Día de las Muertos, one of Silva’s favorite holidays.
The roses throughout add a bit of nature, he says.
The colors that Silva used to paint Juan Gabriel remain vibrant, as he sports a wide-brimmed hat and a Mexican flag draped over his shoulder. The Virgin de Guadelupe is painted in lighter colors, and the detail in her illustration also remains.
The mural is the largest he’s done, Silva says.
Silva has worked professionally as a tattoo artist for nearly 30 years, opening one of Pilsen’s first tattoo shops in 2001. He now runs a private studio in McKinley Park. He never gave up painting murals, which he’s been doing since 1990. He’s especially drawn to painting the faces of those who recently died, whether close friends or artists that he loved, like Gabriel.
For this mural, it took about 20 hours to scrape off the previous paint and clean the wall, Silva says. After that, he spent 50 to 60 hours over two weeks to create the new mural.
The mural was done entirely with spray paint, Silva says, except for the roll brushes that he used to apply the primer.
“I love the spray can. It’s one of my life’s longtime loves,” he says.
Silva’s other murals especially can be found around Pilsen, where he painted the Catrina in the entryway of Simone’s bar at 960 W. 18th St. and a mural of stoner comedians Cheech and Chong behind Café Jumping Bean at 1439 W. 18th St.
In addition to holding up against the elements, the West Lawn mural has not been defaced by humans over the past nine years.
“Maybe it has been respected, as in nobody would go over something like that just because of what it is,” Silva says. “I think it’s what it represents, more than anything, for the community.”