PHILADELPHIA - Local artist Bill Strobel unveiled a breathtaking mural of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts ahead of the team's upcoming Super Bowl matchup in Arizona.
The mural depicts Hurts dropping back for a pass and a Kelly Green Eagles logo with the message "Fly" written over it.
The art piece was done entirely by Strobel, who designed and painted the mural using acrylic paint.
It took two six-hour days to make," Strobel said in a phone conversation with me. "I work pretty fast."
Strobel, 56, is accustomed to executing large art projects.
The Philadelphia native recently finished a project dedicated to the history of hip-hop where he painted 14 portraits in a 3,000 sq. foot mural near Temple University.
The talented street artist was also paid by the Philadelphia Flyers last year to paint four murals around the city as a part of its "Bring it to Broad" campaign.
Although the Flyers pieces were commissioned, Strobel was not assigned to create a Jalen Hurts mural and instead did so for his own enjoyment.
I did this on my own," Strobel said. "I want people to know that the city didn't pay me to do this. I just wanted to create something for the neighborhood and to see it be so well received..I'm just stoked."
As to why he chose to use Hurts as his muse, Strobel said that he is proud of the growth Hurts has shown thus far in his NFL career and wanted to make a tribute to that.
Nobody saw this coming," Strobel said of Hurts development. "He didn't come into this season with anyone's approval. Now, after working his ass off in the offseason, he's an All-Pro player."
I just couldn't be more proud of him," he added. "Hurts is such a student of the game and such a great leader of this team and I wanted to give him credit."
Strobel painted the mural on a garage wall in a Fairmount neighborhood nearby the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Since he shared the finished product in an Instagram post, Eagles fans from all across town have visited it and begun taking pictures with the mural.
Should the Eagles defeat the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LVII, Strobel plans to add a Lombardi trophy to the mural.
To learn more about the artist or to see more of Strobel's artwork, please visit his official Instagram page. For those interested in purchasing his prints and designs, please visit his Etsy page.
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