Spray-paint mural artist Mark Taylor has transformed a blank wall in a Miranda lane into a larger-than-life painting of murdered rappers Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.
Mr Taylor travelled from Melbourne to complete the work in Penprase Lane but was frustrated by last week’s rain, which caused frequent delays.
‘‘There’s a piece of me in the wall, and I get so into it that I lose track of time,’’ Mr Taylor said.
‘‘It is like doing a suduko puzzle after a while — it hurts your brain.’’
When the Leader visited the Penprase Lane site last Friday the piece was not finished and the skies were threatening to open up again.
Mr Taylor was commissioned by Telstra Business Centre Miranda’s managing director Chris Chan to complete the mural of two of Mr Chan’s idols to paint the wall at the rear of the Telstra premises.
‘‘I’ve been wanting to do something like this for ages,’’ said Mr Chan. ‘‘It has turned out even better than I expected.’’
Mr Taylor joked that he had honed his skills during his ‘‘misguided youth’’ but it is more accurate to say his talents were sharpened while doing a fine art degree at Melbourne’s RMIT.
‘‘Anyone can draw, it is just a matter of training your eye to draw what is actually there,’’ he said.
Fans of Mr Taylor’s have been following the mural’s progress on his facebook page (facebook.com/ClapMeataxeDesign).
He is quietly confident the mural won’t be defaced, due to a respect for professional murals.
‘‘I’ve had stuff in Melbourne for 20 years and no-one’s ever touched it,’’ he said.
The mural is the latest effort to make the business centre attractive as a workplace, said Mr Chan - along with a pinball machine and younger staff.
What do you think of the mural?
