A new mural of the late Belfast blues musician Rab McCullough is set to be finished this week near his home.
Having enjoyed a musical career over five decades, the virtuoso musician (72) famously shared the stage with stars like Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison and Rory Gallagher.
Belfast audiences also knew him as a reliably thrilling fixture of the local music scene during a 21-year residency at the Empire Music Hall.
Passing away in May last year after suffering a cardiac arrest at Andersonstown Leisure Centre, a permanent memorial is nearing completion near his home on Owenvarragh Park.
Currently adding the final brush strokes, Belfast artist and family friend Glen Molloy told the Irish News it had been a painstaking process.
"It's not everyday that you're asked to do a painting of a friend's father. So there was a bit of pressure there to make sure it really looked like him," he said.
"The wall was in a pretty bad shape before we started. It took about four months to track the landlord down to get permission to do it.
"The wall had to be stripped down and worked on with a blow torch and angle grinders before the work could even start."
He said the "respect and love" towards the musician had been clear to see in the local community.
"There's been a few people from the leisure centre where he worked have come over and a lot of people from the street. You can almost see them having tears of joy and it is quite emotional for people," he said.
"His son, young Rab, said he was looking at the painting and expecting it to blink because it looks that much like him.
"It's very surreal for him but I think it has captured the essence of his dad."
As well as being in a highly visible location, Mr Molloy said he is also pleased it will be one of the few non-political murals in the area.
"Rab was very cross community and the members of his band were Catholic and Protestant," he said.
"So I'm adding a quote that will be something like 'music crosses all barriers.' Rab was also known as 'cool hand' so we'll feature that somewhere too."
