Caleb Williams, new face of the Bears, featured in Pilsen mural
Many Bears fans are anxious for the 2024 season to begin, all because of No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams taking over as quarterback.
Even though the rookie out of USC hasn't taken a snap yet in the NFL, he's already part of Chicago.
Near 14th and Damen in the Pilsen neighborhood, among a long line of murals, Williams is depicted making his famous "bear claw" pose.
It was created by an artist who goes by the name Bird Milk, who said it took about five hours to make.
"I like to have fun. Like, I like to have a good time, so like that's why a lot of my art is kind of cartoony and just supposed to just put a laugh on the viewer's face," he said.
Bird Milk works full time as a graphic artist, but he's been making his own art since 2017.
"I grew up watching 'The Simpsons' and any fun cartoons like that. So that has heavily influenced a lot of my art," he said.
Bird Milk created the Caleb Williams mural in May, but originally, another familiar face who played for the Bears was in the exact same spot: Jay Cutler.
Bird Milk said he painted a mural of the former Bears quarterback in 2019, but it faded over time.
"Originally, I was going to repaint it as Jay Cutler, and I was like, 'What if I actually changed it up?' I was like, 'We have a new quarterback now.' It was like kind of people are like, they don't know how to feel about him. It was like, 'Let's just do Caleb Williams," he said.
His latest masterpiece is getting a lot of attention, with plenty of admirers stopping by for a picture.
"It's so funny to see everybody so angry about it, but then at the same time you see people and they're like happy and excited about it," he said.
That includes Bird Milk himself, because painting murals is what he loves to do.
"There's nothing more fulfilling to me than just being outside and using your whole body, like the fluidity of just painting outside. Just the sounds, the air. Just, like, hanging out with friends, listening to music, and just like spray painting is to me, is like the dream," he said.
In case you were wondering, Bird Milk got that name from a European chocolate bar.
