Submitted photo Shepherdstown resident, Renzo Velez, works on a mural that will be on display in the Engine Room in Hagerstown until the end of the month.

On Sept. 29, Shepherdstown resident, Renzo Velez, will hold a closing reception art show at the Engine Room Art Space in Hagerstown, Maryland.

The reception, which starts at 5 p.m. and ends at 8, will display photographs, drawings and murals made by Velez.

Velez, a Peruvian native from Lima who came to the United States when he was 16, said the show is a personal message of the people he has met while living in the United States.

“The show is called Recorrido, which means journey in Spanish, is a tribute to the people I’ve met and the places I’ve been throughout the whole time I’ve been in America,” Velez said.

“I’m basically just trying to show people that I love the journey that I’ve had so far and that I love the places I’ve been. I am Peruvian so I want to represent for all Peruvian artists and show that Peruvian artists can do good work too,” Velez added.

According to Velez, his love for art sparked in Peru when he was 15 years old.

“There’s a lot of street art in Peru and in Lima specifically. There was this crew who always was doing murals everywhere and they were called Fumakaka,” Velez explained, “They did really awesome murals all over the city and they used to create these monsters and just weird portraits that brought joy to so many people. I was always interested in art but that’s when I started actually creating art.”

Velez said that although the reception is not until the end of the month, the doors opened to the show on Sept. 1.

“The show is up. The doors opened on Sept. 1 and the two murals I’m working on for the show will be an ongoing project until the reception,” Velez said.

The show, according to Velez, features digital and film photographs of portraits and landscapes, as well as nine surreal portraiture graphite drawings that will all be for purchase.

To see samples of Velez’s work, check him out on Instagram @rvelez01.