The 49 Mural Roundtable Meeting

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Mural artist Michael Pilato came to Orlando from Happy Valley, PA shortly after the Pulse Nightclub massacre to create a mural as tribute to the 49 who were murdered on the evening of June 12, 2016. He introduced the idea of the World Mural project which would have murals around the world in places that had experienced tragedy. He attended my 49 portrait creation project at Falcon Bar and from that he imagined a group of artists working together to bring the mural to life. For his mural to be a success he needed public awareness so this round table was formed to get people on board to help with his vision. 

 Besides the painted mural he wanted a viewer to be able to point their smart phone at an individual and a 3d rendering would appear of the person walking off the surface and telling their story. Several people from a computer graphics company in Vancouver were at the meeting to explain how this tech might work. I tried on a headset and was able to walk around in a recreation of a civil war battleground. I walked up to the end of a cannon and looked down inside the barrel. It was possible to walk around soldiers as they prepared to fire the cannon. Such interactive tech is inspiring but in the end the mural just needed old fashioned brush and paint to be created.


Chimene Pindar Hurst first asked Michael to

create a mural in Orlando. Chimene’s father took on he roll of keeping the round table committee on track. Michael’s mural partner, Yurly Karabash arrived and the mural really started to take shape. I contributed 4 portraits of victims, recreating the portraits I had done on the evening that the 49 portraits were created. In the restructuring of the mural, all 4 of my contributions were painted over and replicas were painted in other sections sort of in my style.


Besides my small contribution to the mural, I also was hired by Michael to create several renderings that showed a new vision for Lake Beauty right next to

Orlando Regional Medical Center where all survivors who had been shot were taken and treated on that fateful night. The medical center is just a few blocks north of the Pulse Nightclub and because of that some lives could be saved. I went to the lake and drew the setting on location and then returned to the studio to make the changes to the setting that Michael envisioned. 49 plaques had been placed around a fountain already in the victims honor. the trouble with this otherwise peaceful lake is that it is right next to the very busy Orange Avenue.


Michael imagined a series of arching walls covered in greenery. Misters would soak the air cooling the area around the fountain. At night lights hidden in the greenery would light up with all the colors of the rainbow. The mist would soften the lights at night. A lower level path path was imagined that would literally be below the lake surface in spots with water cascading over the clear Plexiglas walls. Colorful plaques were imagined across the lake and a tiny gnome village might appear among the knees of a cypress tree. Catacombs could be created on a round peninsula that just out into the lake. Lake Beauty is already a peaceful and serene place despite the incessant sound of traffic. Each new suggestion was intended to make it even more of a place for reflection and healing. The project was pitched to the hospital and nothing ever became of it. Susan Stauffer Beckmann is the public relations person for the mural. It was propped up for a day on June 12, 2017 at Lake Eola for people to see. Rather than being painted on a wall, it is painted on sections of marine grade board so it can be installed anywhere. It was installed on the side of a bar in Thornton Park for a while, but that is not intended as it’s permanent home.

What went up as a temporary memorial at Pulse. Resembles the curving wall design envisioned for lake Beauty. Only instead of being covered in foliage it is covered with thousands of photos from the community response after Pulse happened.

49, 53 and Beyond Kids Mural

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Susan Gromala Crary helped home school students design and then execute a Pulse themed mural in the stairwell leading up to the studio where Michael Pilato and Yuriy Karabash painted a pule mural that now hangs next to a  laundromat on Washington Street across from Dexter’s in Thornton park. Chimene Pindar Hurst asked Michael and Yuriy to come to Orlando to work on the mural. I do not believe that the mural is permanently installed in Thornton Park and I am not sure of where it will finally reside.

The children’s stairwell mural however is a permanent fixture at the Colonial and Mills Avenue studio above the pizza joint. While painting the mural a can of yellow paint was spilled, and rather than get upset, they incorporated the yellow paint into the overall design. Yellow hand prints and puddles of yellow can be found  all  the way up the steps.

The home school students sang as they worked. One student used a tiny brush to paint in her section of the mural. Susan said that was her style. Inspirational phrases swirled around the myriad of rainbow colored hearts. It was inspiring to see the community come together to help make this studio pace livable and to paint bright colors to try and help the city heal.

Inspiration Mural stairwell.

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Michael Pilato from Philadelphia and Yuri Karabash from the Ukraine used the second floor studio space above Anthony’s Pizza as a place to paint the first mural devoted to the 49 victims of the Pulse tragedy. Chimene Pindar Hurst arranged for home school students to paint a mural up the narrow staircase leading to the studio. Susan Gromala Crary, an artist who has done murals on Disney property, volunteered to get the kids started on the project.

She had each student do small thumbnail sketches of ideas they wanted included in the mural. Since social media like twitter and Facebook are so important to the kids, she found that the power of words had to be incorporated. Ultimately large flowers were painted with 49 heart shaped pedals. A rainbow exploded it’s bright colors up the steps. Then words were incorporated like inspire, and positive.

Any creative endeavor has its setbacks and happy accidents. While painting a large section of the rainbow, a cup of bright yellow paint spilled on the steps. Rather than getting upset about the spill, Susan encouraged the kids to incorporate the yellow into the overall design and concept. Each student dipped their hand in the puddle and hand prints were placed on each step. A videographer recorded the afternoon of creative working and singing. Each painter had their own technique which Susan encouraged. One girl used tiny strokes with a tiny brush to fill in sections of the mural. She persisted and completed the work. In the end that is what matters most, something new and unexpected was created.

Pulse: One Year Later.

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On June 12th one year ago 49 people lost their lives in a horrific attack by a gunman at Pulse Nightclub. June 12th people gathered a Pulse for Reflections and Remembrance. Throughout the day, members of the community visited to honor the legacies of the 49 victims, their families and the survivors. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., there was be a ceremony including various community speakers, reflective prayers, a reading of the 49 names, a display of 49 wreaths and music by Violectric. The Inspiration Orlando mural, our Angel Force, Hang-a-Heart, Stars of Hope and comfort dogs were present.

It was raining just enough to make sketching difficult. Watercolor and rain aren’t a great combination. The first thing I saw when approaching Pulse was the huge Inspiration Orlando Mural. 6 foot high marine grade boards were mounted on a large sheet of plywood and supported in back by 2 by 4s nailed as braces. At the Mural, a victim’s father was animatedly talking to Michael Pilato the artist. The father was upset that his daughter’s partner was depicted large on the mural. Another father had refused to bury his son. A daughter eventually stepped in to take on the responsibility. When it came time to collect the money raised for families however, the father was happy to take the money.

As I did this sketch, I was offered water and You Matter cards multiple times. Someone even offered MacDonald’s hamburgers and I kind of regretted not taking one. A mom had her daughter dressed in a bright rainbow tutu and they paraded around the site. A young girl across from me, wearing a rainbow cape,  was giving out free hugs. A reporter set up his TV camera and started asking  her questions. “We will not let hate win” was emblazoned on multiple posters and banners. 

While driving away, I passed a hate monger in front of the auto detailing shop next to Pulse. He was surrounded by people who were getting upset. They shouted Love will overcome hate loud enough to drown out his hate filled chants. Police were on hand and I was told that he toughed a policeman which is interpreted as an assault. 5 policemen wrestled the man to the ground while people shouted their message of love delivered with anger. It was a shame that the Angel Force had left because they could have surrounded the man.

I felt a bit depressed since it felt like most people were here looking for some form of attention or acknowledgment. Was I any different? Will these sketches ever serve a purpose? I was just growing frustrated and annoyed that the rain was making my job near impossible. I pushed through regardless. Any blotches and blemishes are all part of the story of creation.

The Inspiration Mural.

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In July of 2016, shortly after the horrific Pulse Nightclub shooting, Michael Pilato began his work to create the inspiration mural. Yuri Karabash his assistant joined him shortly after. Chimene Pindar Hurst, a Thornton Park resident was instrumental in bringing this creative team to Orlando. Chimene’s husband John was a college friend of Michael’s so it was a creative reunion. A second floor studio was donated above Anthony’s Pizza on the corner of Mills and Colonial. Local residents rallied to repair and furnish the place which needed lots of work. Michael recalled waking up one night to find a rat breathing in his face. He punched the rat and wet back to bed.

Michael attended my 49 portraits night in which local artists painted and sketched portraits of the Pulse victims in one evening. That night inspired Michael to want to use local talent to paint portraits on the mural he was creating. Some of the artists from my project painted portraits onto Michael’s mural. Those portraits float above the surface in rainbow colored hearts. I painted 4 faces, several of which had to be moved and thus repainted. The mural was in a constant state of flux and is still a work in progress.

On June 12, the mural which is made from a series of marine grade boards was assembled for the first time and exhibited at the Pulse nightclub at the 2AM and 10AM events. The boards were mounted on large sheets of plywood and supported by 2 by 4s that were nailed into triangular braces. “Raising the mural into place was like a barn raising.” said Chimene. After the Pulse event was over, the entire mural had to be moved again to go to Lake Eola where it would go on display during the evening’s candlelight vigil. I was asked to sit at the Albin Polasek Museum table to help promote “Summer of Love: Reflections on Pulse at the Albin Polasek Museum (633 Osceloa Avenue Winter Park Fl 32789). That show which opened in May is running for five months.

There were concerns that the mural supports might become a hazard if people tripped on them. If the huge wall fell it could cause damage. It rained all afternoon and when I got to Lake Eola Vigil, I was pleased to see that despite the concerns, the mural stood tall on the walkway to the right of the Disney band shell.  Crowds of people walked past and took cell phone photos. The crowds got thicker despite the rain. I worked under my umbrella, trying to keep my tablet dry. Pam Schwartz, the History Center curator and some of her staff stopped to say hello and she was kind enough to hold the umbrella as I finished the sketch. We joked about how I had to leave out so many details from the mural because I had to work fast.

Beside me the Kimball sisters, Casadie 14, Delanie 11, Emmalie 10, and Fynnlie 7, were handing out paper hearts colored with crayons to resemble rainbows. These young girls had lost their father before the Pulse attack and thus they know what loss feels like. They were “Spreading love, because there’s too much hate in the world.” They had 2000 hand made hearts to pass out and when done they will have handed out over 20,000 hearts. Passers by accepted the hearts with thanks. There was visible love in the crowd. People hugged and couples caressed hands. The crowd wasn’t as thick as the vigil a year ago, rain likely chased some away. But the memories are still fresh. There is a storm on the horizon. That will not keep Orlando down. we answer hate with love. Pulse themed buses were parked around the vigil possibly to block potential hate mongers. Connections in the community grow stronger and we all hope for a better world. It isn’t a 1960’s ideal, but something we need to work hard for.

Pulse Stairway Mural.

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Michael Pilato and Yoriy Karbash have been working on a large multi panel Pulse Mural in a second floor walk up studio above Anthony’s Pizza on the corner of Mills Avenue and Colonial Drive. The mural will be on display at Pulse at 2am on June 12 and then Lake Eola near the band shell later that day.

Artist Susan Gromala Crary volunteered to help home schooled Kids paint the mural leading up the steps. The kids small sketches on the first day of possible ideas, and Susan all those ideas to build a cohesive concept. Strips blue painter’s marked the upper reaches of the mural. Using ochre paint, Susan sketched in the biggest elements of the mural which consisted of flowers with heart shaped pedals. There were to be 49 shaped pedals in all. stood at the base of the staircase count and view The overall design. Once some students arrived, Susan assigned one the important task of double checking her numbers.

A single desk clipped to a board acted as the of illumination, along with the open door. Some pedestrians saw Susan staring up the staircase, and they had to look for themselves. I was impressed with how fast the design took shape. Once all the kids started adding color, the process really accelerated.

Homeschoolers learn about the Inspiration Project.

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Michael Pilato came to Orlando shortly after the horrific shooting that killed 49 people who were celebrating life. Michael is a muralist and his murals colorfully show family of victims, survivors and first responders who were affected by the tragedy. This coming June 12th will mark one year since that fatal night. The mural panels are nearing completion and a second mural for UCF is about to begin.

The home schoolers visited The studio which is above Anthony’s Pizza on the corner of Colonial Drive and Mills Avenue. The students lead by Susan Gromala Crary, were about to paint murals up the stairways to the studio. Michael showed samples of past murals to inspire the students and then they gathered in a group and sketched out possible concepts to the stairway. Hearts were a recurring theme and also many words of hope. The students text often and words are their primary means of expressing their feelings. Susan took the sketches ant thoughts back to her studio and helped tie them all together into a cohesive whole. The day was good for collaboration and seeing how individuals can come together and creative something that any one of them might not have conceived. It was inspiring to see Susan interact with the kids and they all pulled together to create something unexpected.

Susan has an opening coming up April 29th called  Pedestrian: Moments in Blue at The Gatlin Creative, 4940 Orange Ave S, Orlando, Florida 32806. Music Preformance by: Old School Misfits.

The show is a study of the artistic experience that
can not be mass produced. The series celebrates the moments when an
artist is in their element. The paintings are a tribute to the passion
and creative drive of the artist that some might consider pedestrian; or
art happenings that sometimes may be discarded or overlooked as art.
Ms. Gromala journeyed throughout the central Florida
region to paint live at each art event with usually two hours to
capture moments as it occurred. The process of live painting creates the
sketchy loose and energetic feel which allows the viewer to be a part
of each event through Susan’s perspective of the artist. Her preference
to utilize the color blue is a symbolic nod to the “blue collar”
element. It also stems from her passion for monochromatic imagery and
the color of Prussian Blue. A highlight of Susan’s style is the manner
in which she celebrates each drip and errant brush stroke that can occur
in a live painting. These marks are purposefully included as part of
each piece to enable a connection to the action and energy present
during the happening as it was being captured on canvas. Therefore,
creating a painting style emoting a sense of honest reaction to each of
these unique artist moment

Inspiration Orlando Mural to be unveiled at Pulse.

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Mural artist Michael Pilato came to Orlando shortly after the awful night on June 12th, 2016 at the Pulse Nightclub. He and  Yuriy Karabash have been working non-stop on research and development as well
as producing a piece of art with some of the stories of the 49 victims
the survivors and beyond.

Barbara Poma owner of Pulse, announced that on the one year anniversary, the mural that Michael and Yuriy are working on will be on display at Pulse before it goes to a destination not yet decided. Some hand prints and messages will be added. The panels are starting to pull together nicely as a unified whole.

A number of local artists have contributed to the mural.On Tuesdays, artists are invited to the studio above Anthony’s Pizzeria on colonial Drive and Mills Avenue. I sketched as artists arrived. Angel Jones, an arts activist, and owner of a fashion bazaar talked to Michael and committed to return and add elements to one of the panels. Colin Boyer stopped in to paint on one of the portraits he did for the 49 portrait project I had organized. All the artists who participated in that project were invited to work on Michael’s Inspiration Orlando Mural. There was a $100 stipend for contribution artists.

Kara Martinez remembers friends lost at Pulse.

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Michael Pilato held a 49 hour painting marathon in his new studio above Anthony’s Pizza on the corner of Colonial Drive and Mills Avenue. Kara Martinez stopped by to help with some of the paintings done of the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. She remembered two of the victims, Juan Rivera Valazquez, Luis Conde who owned D’Magazine Salon down in Kissimmee. 


Kara was nervous about how she would look, going to her high school prom. She turned to Juan and Luis and they reassured her and made her feel like a princess. Actually, Kara is a princess. She plays the part of Ariel from Disney’s Little Mermaid for a local talent agency. She goes to parties to play the part. She talked lovingly about Juan and Luis describing how playful they were and how much she will miss them. Juan and Luis had been a couple for 14 years, and they owned the salon for seven years. Today the salon has shut down, another vibrant beacon that has gone dark in Orlando.


As we painted the 49 portraits, she began singing Ariel’s song. The music by Alen Menkin and Howard Ashman is contagious. Kara sang about her trinkets and baubles from the people who lived above the water. “I want to be where the people are, I want to see them dancing. Wish I could be part of that world.” We all sang along as we painted, but under the joy lingered pain. On June 12th so many people were joyfully dancing. Then in a split second of madness, loves were cut short. Some died quickly, while others slowly bled out in agony. Others would survive but be left with scars and nightmares. This is not your typical Disney ending.

49, 53 and Beyond Children’s Mural.

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Michael Pilato a mural artist from Philadelphia has come to Orlando to create a series of murals dedicated to the 49, 53 and beyond who were directly affected by the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub. He has moved into the empty apartment above Tony’s pizzeria on the corner of Mills and Colonial. This run down apartment was formerly known as “The Space” and has been the location for quite a few cutting edge exhibits and performances. Volunteers have been working tirelessly to make the space livable. New floors are being put in, along with a new sink and cabinets. Piles of scrap wood were piled in the hall, waiting to be taken to the dump. There was no air conditioning and some window panes were broken and missing. Michael was bitten by mosquitoes on his first night in the space.  The groundwork for this artist studio is a true labor of love.

Long narrow staircases lead up to the space. Chimene Pindar Hurst came up with the idea of having home school students create a mural on the walls of the front stairwell. Susan Gromala Crary has done murals on Disney property and she stepped in to spearhead the project. Day one had the children sketching and writing ideas on paper. The kids wanted to sling paint from the start, but Susan assured them that they needed a unified plan before paint touched the walls.  They circled up to share ideas and chat while they worked. The moms sat on the opposite end of the room, also chatting. Susan took all the sheets of paper home to her studio to create a unified concept that incorporated all the separate ideas.

When the kids were finished, Susan sat with them and enthusiastically let them know which ideas inspired her the most.  She collected all the sketches and notes and the conversation she had with the kids gave her a definite idea of how to proceed. Words are very important to these kids because of texting and the internet. Therefor words of love and inspiration would weave themselves in to the visual tapestry of the mural. The plan was to have the kids come in weekly to get the mural painted.