UNIVERSAL CITY – A new mural has captured the attention of Universal City and the city of San Antonio, honoring fallen NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna.
This comes after a tragic helicopter crash that killed Kobe, Gianna and seven others in Calabasas, California late last month.
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“The reason behind (the mural) – we’re not all superstar athletes but we can all be superstar dads," said the local artist behind it all, Mike Arguello.
The mural depicts Kobe Bryant wrapping his arm around his daughter Gianna in a loving embrace. You can find the mural on the side of the Clippers & Reality barber shop in Universal City.
Arguello started the project just last week. He began sketching the mural on Tuesday and finished the final painting on Thursday.
The mural was an effort to not only honor Kobe and all of his career achievements, but it was also a way to capture him being a father - something Arguello hopes other dads can resonate with.
“For me, it was more about him being a father," Arguello said. “My daughter just turned three and I’m still new at the whole fatherhood thing and that was something that I could relate to."
Arguello has received a lot of positive feedback on the mural so far, and coming up next week, he has another Kobe Bryant mural in the works.
The artwork will portray a scene of Kobe coaching his daughter in a basketball game and will be located on the storefront wall of Supremes Sports Bar, located at 820 San Pedro Avenue.
“His love for the game was equally as strong as his love for his daughter… I wanted to show that side of him. Not the superstar athlete," said Arguello.
The project is estimated to take between three to four days to complete, weather-permitting.
Similar to his mural in Universal City, Arguello said he hopes both art pieces encourage the ‘mamba mentality.'
“It’s hard raising kids and that’s why that Mamba Mentality… really matters when you’re raising a child."
To keep up with Arguello’s artwork, you can follow him on Facebook by clicking here.
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