murals

Vincent “Vincenzo” "Vinny" DelPlato, 65, whose art has enlivened much of Batavia for decades, including Jackson Square, has passed away.

He died Aug. 22 due to complications of diabetes, according to an obituary published today.

While the Jackson Square murals may be his best known, he painted murals on other Batavia buildings -- some of which have been covered in recent years -- as well as a giant mural in Oakfield depicting the village's history.

The obit:

Vin was a talented artist. He saw the beauty in God’s creation. With his paints and brushes, he tried to capture that beauty on canvas, whether it was a portrait of someone’s loved one, a family pet, or the ever-changing scenes of nature. He created true works of art to be admired for years to come.

In 2009, he painted a mural inside what was becoming Next Level Fitness at Main and Jackson streets, inspired by a famous photograph (photographer unknown) of men eating lunch on a beam on the 69th floor of the RCA Building under construction in Manhattan in 1932 (see video below).

File photos by Howard Owens.

As of 4 o'clock this afternoon (Oct 24^th) The “Play Me a Tune Music Garden” is officially open at GO ART!, located outside the Seymour building at 201 E. Main St., Batavia.

The grand opening celebration continues until 8 o'clock this evening. There are free donuts and cider for the kids and Los Compadres and Center Street Smoke House food trucks are there, too. 

Everyone is welcome. 

The music garden will be open for all to enjoy anytime GO ART! is open. Also make sure when you are there to check out the new murals in the music garden and on a wall on Bank Street by Jill Pettigrew and the Batavia Senior Center.

Nicole Brill says she loves Batavia, she loves City Church and she loves color, so as part of the City Canvas art trail project, she's painting a mural of a stained-glass window on the side of the Generation Center.

Brill is a graphic designer for City Church, so she often works with Brian Kemp, co-owner of T-Shirts Etc. on projects and Brill said it was Kemp who approached her about participating in the mural project.

There are four murals planned for downtown this summer. Two of the three on the side of the Mancuso Bowling Center are already completed, Brill is working on hers and another one is planned for the northeast corner of Main St. Pizza Co.'s building.

"Pastor Marty (Macdonald) didn't ask what I was doing," Brill said. "He said do it and do it big."

Macdonald, pictured below with Brill, happened by while we were talking with Brill and said he couldn't be prouder of Brill's participation in the project.

The art trail project will create a trail map for downtown visitors and it will include existing murals, such as those in Jackson Square by Vinny DelPlato, and the fire hydrants painted by artists two summers ago.

Kemp said he was able to reach out to artists in the community whose work isn't as often seen locally and get them to participate this year. The project is funded through a grant from GO ART!.

"I want to see creativity and color really shine here," Brill said. "And I love that I get to use it as part of my ministry at City Church."

Last Tuesday, I spent some time with Vinny DelPlato, or Vincenzo as he prefers to be called professionally, taking some pictures and talking with him about his mural painting.

He's just finishing up a new mural inside Ken Mistler's new gym, Next Level Fitness.

Below is a video of Vinny talking about his work along with some pictures. Some of the pictures are also included after the jump.

Vincenzo DelPlato has recently been specializing in pictures of great jazz artists. His work is on display -- and for sale -- through his Web site.