• Published: Feb. 14, 2026

Patrick Hershberger's murals bring joy, wonder to walls and businesses around Kalamazoo

By

• Devin Anderson-Torrez | danderson-torrez@mlive.com

KALAMAZOO, MI –– He’s beautified nearly every neighborhood of Kalamazoo.

A “GOBONUSSAVES” mural at Howard’s Party Store in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. “GOBONUSSAVES”, also known as Edison neighborhood resident Patrick Hershberger, has murals that can be seen across the Kalamazoo area. (Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

His name is Patrick Hershberger and he’s a 311 specialist for the city of Kalamazoo during the day. The Edison neighborhood resident goes by “GOBONUSSAVES” as a muralist, which he’s been doing professionally for 13 years.

“Currently visible to the public, I think (I’ve done) over 30 (murals),” Hershberger said.

In his lifetime, Hershberger said he’s done well over 100 murals –– some of which don’t even exist anymore.

His biggest mural to date was done during the Brush the Block 2025 mural festival in Kalamazoo. He scaled an 80-foot lift for the Farmers Alley mural.

A look at the before and after of Patrick Hershberger’s mural for “Brush the Block” mural festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 (Before photo taken by Taylor DesOrmeau).(Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

He also has a whimsical blue and yellow scene inside the Booked Up bookstore.

One way or another, you’ve probably seen one of Patrick Hershberger’s murals.

Perhaps, without even realizing it was his.

Typically, his tag “GOBONUSSAVES” takes up little real estate on his murals. More credit goes to the organizations he’s partnered with to make it.

Patrick Hershberger works on a mural on the side of Artesania La Guarecita De Michoacan in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. The Edison mural represents the community gardening initiatives going on in the neighborhood.(Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

Related: ‘Grow Edison’: New mural sprouts up in Kalamazoo neighborhood by homegrown artist

Visor on, ‘GOBONUSSAVES’ goes to work

To make these murals as good and to-scale as possible, Hershberger has started using virtual reality technology.

The cutting-edge concept has replaced older concepts such as using a projector.

VR visor on, Hershberger goes to work as if he was in the Oasis of the book “Ready Player One.” But when he pulls the visor off, the mural stays in reality.

It’s quite a spectacle to those who watch it.

“He’ll have it like projected on the VR headset and he’ll paint with the VR headset on,” Game Pawn manager Chase Hunter said. “That was the first time I saw anyone do it. Which is really cool.”

Hershberger calls this part of the process “sketching.”

What once was a heavier lift in the process is now just file management and scaling.

The switch saves him hours of time.

“I started out with essentially just free-handing and then doing larger murals, some gridding and then for the longest time, I’ve used a projector to kind of give me that basic sketch outline,” Hershberger said. “Now with VR, it’s essentially allowing you to do that.”

Not all of Hershberger’s murals are done with VR.

In fact, many of them across Kalamazoo were completed when he was still operating the old-fashioned way.

After the VR portion of the mural is completed, Hershberger still paints over the outline, letting his creativity and skill shine through.

Some of the painting process includes using a 1-inch brush to really get the color to pop.

“It’s just really fun to see all of the color solidified with some solid lines when it’s placed over it,” Hershberger said. “So that gives me a sense of completion, personally.”

While VR has sped the process, Hershberger doesn’t rush the details that make his murals so unique.

The mural at Game Pawn, 4606 W. Main Street, stretches the entire back wall and is dedicated to “Super Smash Bros.”

There are multiple smaller murals that run up pillars throughout the store, showing games such as “Pac-Man” and “Minecraft.”

For smaller works of art like that, Hershberger still opts to go free-hand with a No. 2 pencil.

“Anytime someone gives me an excuse to nerd out on gaming or comics, I will gladly take them up on it,” Hershberger said.

A massive “Super Smash Bros.” mural done by Patrick Hershberger, also known as “GoBonusSaves” fills the back wall inside Game Pawn, a new video game and collectible store, at 4606 W. Main Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.(Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

A community perspective

After finding himself in Chicago in the early-to-mid 2000s, Hershberger turned to graffiti and street art.

Around 2010, once moving back home to Kalamazoo, he began to focus more on the concept of murals.

“I settled on the community perspective,” Hershberger said.

Learn more about the Kalamazoo artist by visiting his page, here.

A “GOBONUSSAVES” mural in the Vine Neighborhood of Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. “GOBONUSSAVES”, also known as Edison neighborhood resident Patrick Hershberger, has murals that can be seen across the Kalamazoo area. (Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

A “GOBONUSSAVES” mural at La Hispanica Market in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. “GOBONUSSAVES”, also known as Edison neighborhood resident Patrick Hershberger, has murals that can be seen across the Kalamazoo area. (Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

A “GOBONUSSAVES” mural at La Hispanica Market in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. “GOBONUSSAVES”, also known as Edison neighborhood resident Patrick Hershberger, has murals that can be seen across the Kalamazoo area. (Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

A “GOBONUSSAVES” mural in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. “GOBONUSSAVES”, also known as Edison neighborhood resident Patrick Hershberger, has murals that can be seen across the Kalamazoo area. (Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

A “GOBONUSSAVES” mural at East Main Food and Beverage in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. “GOBONUSSAVES”, also known as Edison neighborhood resident Patrick Hershberger, has murals that can be seen across the Kalamazoo area. (Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

A “GOBONUSSAVES” mural at East Main Food and Beverage in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. “GOBONUSSAVES”, also known as Edison neighborhood resident Patrick Hershberger, has murals that can be seen across the Kalamazoo area. (Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

A massive “Super Smash Bros.” mural done by Patrick Hershberger, also known as “GoBonusSaves” fills the back wall inside Game Pawn, a new video game and collectible store, at 4606 W. Main Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.(Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

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A Pac-Man mural done by Patrick Hershberger, also known as “GoBonusSaves” crawls up a supporting pillar inside Game Pawn, a new video game and collectible store, at 4606 W. Main Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.(Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

Owner Stephanie Emelander, of Plainwell, works on a laptop inside the reading area of her new bookstore, Booked Up, in Kalamazoo, on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. The area is highlighted by a Patrick Hershberger mural, which speaks to both the whimsical and fantastical nature books can bring. (Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

Patrick Hershberger’s finished mural is seen after the “Brush the Block” mural festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

Devin Anderson-Torrez

Devin Anderson-Torrez, 25, is a Multimedia Specialist at MLive-The Kalamazoo Gazette. He covers culture, community, business and sports.