The smile from 10-year-old Tyfani Beeks, a fourth grader at Olmsted School 64, can be seen beaming from a new mural in Masten Park’s William L. Gaiter Parkway. Tyfani’s meticulously drawn facial features and hair, sticking out from a white T-shirt, appear against a vibrant yellow background, accented with red, green and black acrylic paint reflected in the Pan-African flag held to commemorate Juneteenth.
The mural celebrates the parkway and its namesake for his community activism, the newest federal holiday and legacy families in the neighborhood. Artist Julia Bottoms painted her most recent mural on Norfolk Avenue near William L. Gaiter Parkway, featuring 10-year-old Tyfani Beeks.
Tyfani is the third generation to live on the same street where the 14.5-foot-tall and 46-foot-wide artwork is being publicly unveiled Friday at 391 Norfolk Ave. The work of art is also the latest produced by prolific portrait and mural artist Julia Bottoms, whose paintings can be seen through Oct.
14 in the Buffalo AKG Art Museum exhibition, “Before and After Again.” “It’s beautiful and the neighbors love it,” said Angie Davis Leveritte, president of Norfolk Avenue Block Club #1, which developed the project with community partners the Tool Library, GObike Buffalo and the Delavan Grider Community Center, as well as Dave and Robin Maslow – owners of M.A.
Moslow & Brothers, a nearly century-old business – who allowed the mural to be painted on their building. Two state grants admini.
