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≈WARREN -- Adam Keck, co-owner of Modern Methods Brewing Company, already is seeing positive reaction to the new mural in David Grohl Alley.
"It's very fun to see these people who, part of their routine is walking through here, and how much more special it was made by the art," Keck said.
The mural, which covers two brick walls in the covered portion of the alleyway dedicated to Warren native and two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dave Grohl, was designed and painted by artist Royce Umberger, an Akron area native who's lived in the Mahoning Valley since 2007 and resides in Boardman.
His proposal was selected from more than 20 submissions for the project, which had a $12,000 budget and was financed primarily by the David Grohl Alley committee with additional funding from BRITE Energy and the Fine Arts Council of Trumbull County.
The mural took about 100 hours over five weeks to complete with Umberger working when the brewery was closed. The mural was completed Sept. 28, but the lighting that will illuminate the work at night needs to be completed.
"I would say the biggest hiccups happened before I even started painting," Umberger said. "The color palette I picked, when I put the paint on the wall, it wasn't quite what I wanted, but I was happy with the final color palette."
Umberger stuck closely to the general concept of his proposal, but some of the details changed in the execution.
"Working on an iPad and working on a wall are two different things," he said. "I made some small adjustments. The portraiture parts of the piece stayed the same. The rest is abstract, and I made a game-time decision on that, but I didn't stray too far."
Poking out among the abstract portions are a from-the-nose-up portrait of Grohl, arms and part of a torso playing Grohl's familiar blue Gibson guitar and other figurative elements.
Umberger called the mural the biggest art project he's done to date and said he hopes to do more work on that scale in the future.
One of the most satisfying aspects was the positive feedback from the folks at Modern Methods.
"They loved it," Umberger said. "They're some of my best friends. I love everyone up there, and they were positive throughout the whole process. That was one of my favorite parts – I got to see my friends more. Now that I'm living in Boardman, I don't make it up there as often."
Keck said he believes the new mural will continue to draw visitors to the alley. Last weekend the brewery booked the band Anya Van Rose from the Akron area. After their set, the members of the band were wrapping themselves in the temporary strands of lights that were put up in the alley and taking photographs in front of the mural to post on social media.
"To me it's more important that our regulars and the people who live here like it, but watching them appreciate it was eye-opening," Keck said. "Dave Grohl Alley already is a destination, but this is going to make it more intense."