For the last five years, Melissa Burgoyne has worked to make various McDonough business owners and public figures’ visions come to life by painting murals and other works of art on the Square.

  Burgoyne has had a love for art since high school, however that was where her formal artistic education ended. For 20 years, she has worked as a self-taught artist, taking on various projects to hone her craft and skillset, such as painting children’s rooms and faux painting

  “I’ve always been an artist. I say I was born with a brush and if it’ll stand still long enough, I’ll paint it,” laughed Burgoyne.

  Burgoyne prefers to paint on a canvas, but has recently expanded her talents to include mural and window painting.

  “I am a canvas artist, but my phone keeps ringing for murals and it’s hard to say no,” she said.

  After painting her first mural of a donkey on the Square in 2016, she began to have more McDonough business owners approach her, commissioning artwork.

  “The McDonough merchants talk and that’s pretty much how I get my business,” said Burgoyne.

  Her most recent mural on the Square is the Secret Garden mural, commissioned by David Troy of Troy Logistics.

  The mural is located in the alleyway behind PJ’s Cafe and features “larger than life” flowers, insects, a hummingbird, magnifying glass eye, and Luna Moth wings. A University of Georgia Bulldog has been painted above the garden.

  However, her favorite work of art on the Square to date has been The Beatles artwork, commissioned by Peto Fallas of Fallas Family Vision.

  Completed in 2019, the three-dimensional work of art was colorless metal and concrete before she added her artistic touch in addition to Fallas’ creative vision.

  “It’s his vision. He knows what he wants. I am simply a tool that he is using to create,” said Burgoyne. “When we decided, let’s do a mural, [Fallas] just kind of let me do what I wanted. I just incorporated lots of elements from different songs of the Beatles. I enjoyed birthing that because I just love the Beatles. I loved the idea of it.”

  She also painted two power boxes on the Square, the black dog surrounded by red flowers and the blue sky pointillism with the flowers and butterfly.

  “With my power boxes, I was trying to do something that I thought children would enjoy interacting with,” said Burgoyne.

  She has also painted the Atlanta United mural and artwork within Macon Street Tacos.

  Burgoyne expressed that as much as she loves working on the murals, she also enjoys interacting with the people that stop to talk to her while she paints on the Square.

  “My favorite thing as far as the outdoor murals is actually meeting people while I’m doing it,” said Burgoyne. “I enjoy the birthing process of it and I enjoy wow-ing people. I like to challenge myself.”

  McDonough has changed over the years, expressed Burgoyne, and she is excited to be a part of the “next phase” that the area is undergoing, with the addition of new businesses and faces.

  “It’s been a journey to watch McDonough over all these years because so much has changed. The faces have changed and the businesses have changed,” said Burgoyne. “It’s exciting to be able to grow with our Square. It has a heartbeat and it is amazing to be a part of that heartbeat.”

  She is grateful to have had the opportunity to leave her mark on McDonough and she hopes that her work can be used to bring joy to and inspire others. 

  “It’s very interesting to be able to step back and say I have left a little touch of myself in all the little corners of McDonough, and I think that’s fantastic,” said Burgoyne. “To think how many people are going to see these and photograph and appreciate these, it’s mind-blowing to me. I’m just excited about the next challenge.”

  Burgoyne has another artistic project that is pending at the moment, the subject of which she plans to reveal in the coming months.

  When she is not painting murals on the Square, Burgoyne can be found working on pet portraits as well as other creative work for her clients.

  To see more of Melissa Burgoyne’s artwork, visit her Facebook Group, titled Creativity Etc. Group, or take a stroll around the McDonough Square.