KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Super Bowl run means all of Kansas City is ready to paint the town red. For artist William Rose, that’s literal.
Rose painted murals to celebrate the past two Super Bowl wins for the Chiefs.
“I’m a relatively fast painter, so once I get going on something it doesn’t take me too long,” Rose said.
This year, he’s got another special painting in the works. It’s a painting of a digital markup he made of Taylor Swift in the iconic #87 jersey-turned-jacket, created by Kristin Juszczyk.
“Doing a painting of Taylor Swift, it just kind of seemed like a natural,” Rose said. “She’s obviously such a cultural icon, and obviously now such a big part of Chiefs culture.”
Artist William Rose’s start was simple: he picked up a paint brush.
“I’m self-taught, so I didn’t even know I could draw until I was like 45,” he said.
His work has spanned to other professional teams and celebrities. He’s done plenty of other Chiefs and Royals artwork. He’s also painted for the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Clint Eastwood and more. So naturally, Rose made the decision to paint Taylor Swift.
When it comes to her presence in Kansas City, William sees the big picture.
“That just makes it exciting for Kansas City and for anybody who’s a Chiefs fan, and I’m just enjoying it,” he said.
Rose is hopeful he’ll get to paint another Super Bowl victory this year.
“I would love to do another super bowl painting, man oh man that would be so cool, but I don’t want to think about that, I don’t want to jinx it!” he said.
While Kansas City is in its Super Bowl era, William Rose has found an era of his own.
“I’m in my painting era! Exactly, I like that! I might use that,” Rose said. “I think I’ll remain in my painting era until I leave this world. But yeah, that’s the era I’m in.”
