ENDICOTT, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – A retired scenic artist has returned to his hometown to help beautify Little Italy.

Scott Yurko is working on a mural on the building at the corner of Oak Hill Avenue and Witherill Street that houses Thrive Salon. He’s producing a scene of an Italian landscape, bordered by a grapevine. The style is a mix of impressionism and trompe-l’oeil which creates an optical illusion of three dimensions.

Yurko, a Maine-Endwell grad, recently retired after a long career creating scenery for the Metropolitan Opera.

“I have this training and now that I’m retired, I’ve got nowhere to use it. The community really was interested in somebody doing a mural hear that reflected their heritage. When I applied, it was a perfect fit,” said Yurko.

Yurko’s mural is the last in a series across the Triple Cities funded by grants from Broome County and administered by the Arts Council.

He expects to finish it up next week.