CLEARWATER, Fla. — On Clearwater’s historic Cleveland Street, a paint-splattered group of high-schoolers are turning a drab building into an eye-popping tribute to the beauty of Florida.
The Gibbs High School Mural Club is painting the Flag Company building on Clearwater’s Cleveland Street as part of a citywide beautification project.
Over the next two months, five murals will be painted all across Clearwater, with the Gibbs crew being the only high-school team to get the nod.
“It’s amazing,” says Gibbs art teacher and international muralist Brian McAllister. “You give these guys a brush and a design and they take off, no problem. It’s fun to watch.”
About 30 Gibbs students are climbing all over scaffolding to paint a broadside of the Flag Company.
“I always try to incorporate the business into the design,” says McAllister. “I took the Florida seal that’s in the heart of the state flag and I deconstructed that.”
The dramatic mural shows a Native American woman and various birds protecting the state from an oncoming storm. The mural should take about a week to finish.
If you’d like to visit the murals as they’re being painted, the addresses are:
The Gibbs High Mural Club is painting the Flag Company at 1360 Cleveland St., Clearwater.
Florencia Durn and Camilo Nuez of Uruguay paint the mural at the city's Garden Avenue Garage, 28 North Garden Ave., Clearwater.
The husband-and-wife team of Michelle Sawyer and Tony Krol of Tampa will paint the mural at Creative Contractors, 620 Drew St., Clearwater.
Cecilia Lueza of St. Petersburg will paint the mural at a commercial property at 512 Cleveland St., Clearwater.
And Julia Morrisroe of Gainesville, Fla., will paint the mural at Clearwater Tower Parking Garage, 33 North Garden Ave.
