NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio — Painting a mural on a building is no easy task, but the meaning behind the creation on the side of Rooney Cleveland Company in North Olmsted, makes every minute spent crafting a special tribute for 3-year-old Julian Wood worth it for world-renowned artist Arlin Graff.
"I'm painting murals all over the place. But actually people don't know I live here," Arlin said.
Arlin lives just a town away from the unimaginable tragedy that stole the life of Julian on June 3 at the Giant Eagle in North Olmsted.
"I was in shock at what happened because the first thing that triggered was because I have a three-year-old kid and my wife and my kid, they're always here in the same parking lot," Arlin said.
Arlin wanted to do something for Julian's family, so one day while he was driving past Rooney Cleaning Company, it came to him.
"I hear about he loves dinosaurs and he loves green," Arlin said. "That's the reason I'm gonna paint a green dinosaur here."
When Terry Rooney, who owned his cleaning company for decades, got the call from Arlin's wife to ask for permission to paint the side of the business, he didn't hesitate to answer.
"The conversation lasted about 30 seconds. I said, 'We're in,'" Rooney said.
That's because he, and the entire community, is hurting along with the Wood family.
"It could have been anybody over there that day," Terry said. "It took a lot of people to make this happen and we're just honored to be part of it."
He's also grateful for Julian's parents who gave their blessing for the project.
"Thank you," Terry said as a message to the Wood family.
Frank Boulton, chairman of the board for the North Olmsted Art Commission, said he was humbled by the generosity of local business owners.
"The outpouring of community sympathy and support for this project has been amazing. Our North Olmsted companies like United Rentals for the lift, Sherwin Williams for the goods ... it's all coming together wonderfully," Boulton said of the midday progress.
It's all for a little boy with a beautiful smile and a love for big, green dinosaurs like the one on the side of Rooney. Forever shining Julian's light and capturing his innocent spirit.
"I feel honored. They allowed me to express myself and give it a little bit back for them," Arlin said.