Tom Rudesyle grew up in Bristol Borough and has created art professionally for years. When talks came to put a new Coca-Cola mural on the side of Greg Pirelli’s building at the corner of Radcliffe and Market streets, Rudesyle said he was up to the challenge.
The former mural that sat on the side of the building was taken down in 2014 when the structure was updated. At the time, town leaders said the mural was poised to return. Coca-Cola even features an image of the old mural on their website under a section that talks about classic ads for their brand.
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Rudesyle owns Outta Sight Studios, a tattoo parlor on New Falls Road in Levittown. In the past though, he has worked for Kahunaville, traveling around the country and painting their murals, and he has even done a bit of artwork in Bristol Borough, including the lettering above at the Bristol Wharf and a shield in the renovated police station garage.
Growing up in the Borough, Rudesyle was familiar with the two murals that came before his new one and was flattered and grateful when his name was brought up to do the new mural.
“It gave me a great sense of pride to be able to do that [the mural],” Rudesyle said. “It was nice to be able to do it in my hometown.”
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Before being approved, Rudesyle had to send a portfolio of work to Coca-Cola and get it approved. After the artistic vetting was done, Coca-Cola picked the image and it was off to work for Rudesyle.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
“It was cool. We had a lot of people driving by, waving, honking and yelling,” Rudesyle explained.
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Luckily, weather held out during construction of the mural. Rain would have made the process much more difficult, according to Rudesyle.
Although he doesn’t have much time to paint murals, Rudesyle appeases his artistic appetite by operating his tattoo parlor.
Rudesyle extended a heartfelt thank you to Pinelli for getting him considered for the job.
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“I think for people in town, especially those that remember the old ones, it’s good for them to have the mural back.”
