Artist paints ‘Wings of Hope’ on building in downtown Jackson

JACKSON, Tenn. — Check out some new artwork in downtown Jackson. The painter said he hopes it inspires people who see it.

Colorful wings are painted on the side of a building along Lafayette Street in downtown Jackson.

“I felt like Jackson needed some interactive art,” Frank McMeen, the building owner, said.

McMeen commissioned a painter to create the mural. “I want people to appreciate the fact that art is not always in a museum and that art can be interactive,” he said.

They are called the Wings of Hope. Painter James Yelverton created the mural and said he wants the art to instill hope and unite the community.

“No matter how you’re feeling, if you see something that’s bright and beautiful, it can instantly change the way that you feel,” he said.

Yelverton said painting saved his life.

“Three years ago I picked up a paint brush for the first time since the 11th grade and started expressing myself positively,” he said.

Yelverton said his favorite painter was a colorful person, so he also loves color.

“There was so much darkness on the inside that it permeated through me with color,” he said.

McMeen hopes people stop to see the wings when they visit downtown.

“I want people to come and have their picture made here, do selfies, that this becomes a point of interest,” he said.

Yelverton said it took about 100 hours to paint. He said he painted most of it in the dark in the middle of the night.