Local artist Mike Wigal is a man who dabbles in many artistic mediums, but his latest is creating murals using chalk.
Wigal, 40, spent Friday afternoon creating his most recent mural outside The Perfect Smoke, a cigar lounge in downtown Salisbury.
Wigal said he connected with The Perfect Smoke owner Darren Moody because of the other murals he’s created at downtown businesses, including Nashville Nights, Gritz and Go Burrito. He’s also created a mural at Romano’s Italian Restaurant on West Innes Street.
This isn’t the first piece Wigal has done for the shop. He crafted a mural inside the lounge, and the business has since sold prints of it.
“I’m always looking for something to do,” Wigal said.
Moody came up with the idea for the mural.
Once complete, it will featurea man wearing a fedora while rolling a cigar.
He uses a computer program so he can show clients his design, then another program helps dissect the design. Wigal uses a tape measure to plot points so that he can take his design from a computer concept to an actual masterpiece.
He said Moody created a challenge for him to create this piece. The artwork will be sort of a 3-D effect or a “trick of the eye,” Wigal said.
A self-taught artist for 22 years, Wigal has used such items as canvas, furniture, vehicle graphics, T-shirts and signs.
“Salisbury needs to be made more aware of who he is,” Moody said of Wigal, who has been in Rowan County for three years.
Moody said the idea also tied into the city’s Friday Night Out event.