Emily Sissell | The Crow’s Nest
By Emily Sissell
From painting graffiti on the sides of trains to creating a 135-foot-long mural, Leo Gomez’s struggle for artistic fulfillment continues.
He grew up in Columbia, painting graffiti as a young teen.
He no longer has to worry about the risks of being a graffiti artist, as he now makes a living by doing commission-based art in St. Petersburg.
This was the first year Gomez participated as one of 16 artists for the SHINE Mural Festival, which began on Oct. 16.
The event kicked off as the fifth annual attempt to fill St. Petersburg’s buildings with more inspiring dialogue.
As the years go by, Gomez finds himself wanting to create larger pieces. At this year’s festival, he created his biggest painting yet on the Ice House of St. Petersburg.
The festival started off with many rainy days that made Gomez have no choice but to put his brush down.
This forced his large mural, “Sunshine on my Mind,” to be squeezed into an even smaller time frame than the allotted nine days.
After the sun finally decided to show itself, he ran into a different problem when his lift stopped working.
He spent the remainder of the day working on areas he could reach from the ground.
Despite the struggles, he still finished on Oct. 26 as expected. Difficulties like this make it worthwhile to him in the end.
“The most happiness is brought when I see how people react to my art,” said Gomez.
Despite the struggles prior to getting to this point, he has always lived by the same motivation to keep fighting.
“Fear is just a thing in our minds,” said Gomez. “It’s something we create ourselves, and if other people can do it, so can you.”
