‘Purple Rain’ reigns in Phoenix.
“He was just an amazing individual.”
At the very busy intersection of 15th Avenue, Grand Avenue and Roosevelt Road in Downtown Phoenix, local artist Maggie Keane has created a visual that will cause you to pull over.
“This is incredible! I had to come by and see this,” said Troy Muhammad, who literally stopped on the side of the road to show his gratitude toward Keane’s mural. “This man deserves this and so much more.”
That man is Prince, the icon now memorialized in Downtown Phoenix on the side of Rodriguez Boxing Gym.
“For Prince fans, Prince inspired the Prince Mural,” said Keane, standing in front of the eye-catching artwork.
It took Keane two months to stencil and paint the mural that commemorates the life and death of the legendary pop star. The mural contains iconic imagery from the various eras of his career, all centering around a pair of giant mirrored glasses.
“The idea that I had was I don’t want to paint these sunglasses, I want the real thing,” said Keane. “He was just the whole package artistically.”
Prince, whose real name was Prince Rodgers Nelson, passed away on April 21, 2016.
