Drivers on West King Street and Poplar Grove Connector may notice a large work of art beginning to take shape at Galileo’s Bar and Café.

The west-facing wall of the former Austin City Limits building, which Galileo’s owners Mark and Anne Dixon restored before opening in 2009, has been painted a vibrant red — the backdrop for a large rectangular mural in the center.

“It’s been something we’ve been wanting to do for a while,” said Anne Dixon. “That big huge side of the building was like a canvas waiting to be painted.” Dixon said she and Mark are excited to add more permanent artwork to downtown Boone.

To create the mural, Galileo’s commissioned Jason Brown of Be Free Artistry.

Brown has created large indoor and outdoor murals in downtown Asheville; Seneca Falls, N.Y.; Watertown, N.Y.; Lake Placid, N.Y.; Denver; Austin, Texas, and other locations.

“All of my murals and paintings are created 100 percent free hand,” Brown writes on his website.

“I was just impressed with his work,” said Dixon. “He has a pretty cool mural in downtown Asheville — it looks like you can drive through it. He does amazing things with depth.”

The mural will picture a lively bar scene “that looks as though you are looking right into Galileo’s,” said Dixon. “We worked with (Brown) to come up with an idea to reflect what we do at Galileo’s without being an advertisement.”

Dixon said she expects the project to be complete in two or three weeks.