Artist finishes work on New Seasons mural

After several weeks of work, artist Jonathan Wakuda Fischer has finished a sprawling mural on the back of the New Seasons store on 11th Ave. NW at NW Ballard Way.

“I credit the designers for recognizing this beautiful new construction desperately needed some personality on the west facing wall,” Wakuda Fischer told My Ballard. “I used to live nearby and know the area well — when I was asked to propose a design, it was no problem creating a mural that I felt would resonate with the neighborhood.”

As you can see from the photos, the painting is comprised of giant salmon, their silhouettes filled with local imagery including the Leif Erikson statue, the Ballard Bridge and Bergen Place Park.

“The painting is one hundred percent spray paint,” he said. “I sketch my design out with chalk and use a combination of freehand painting and stencils for pattern work. This allows me to work extremely quickly and in a myriad of weather conditions.”

You can see more of Wakuda Fischer’s work on his website and Instagram account.

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The founders of My Ballard

14 thoughts to “Artist finishes work on New Seasons mural”

  1. Nice! I’m sure the thieving panhandlers of Ballard are excited about having a new place to bring in their pit bulls.
    Welcome to the neighborhood!

  2. I saw it just before it was complete. Love it! Here’s to public art! Thanks to the owners of the building for commissioning it and the artist for a fun local design.

  3. @ Bam: can you please express yourself a little better? We’re not clear where you’re coming from. It’s obvious your tin hat needs adjusting though. May have to put up a fence to keep it looking good though, as it just became a target. Sad that so many things have open season written on them.

  4. The mural is nice. But you can put lipstick on this pig of a company, but it’s still a union-busting, anti-gay scourge on Ballard/Fremont. Hopefully the mural lasts longer than the store.

  5. @BAM – And, just like that, your true colors shine for the world to see! Wanna know why I call you a deplorable? BECAUSE YA ARE, BLANCHE! YA ARE!!!

  6. Personally, I’m OK paying a nickle more per apple if it means the employees in the store have a living wage and decent benefits.

  7. To each his own. But just because a company doesn’t support a labor monopoly, doesn’t make them evil. I just think I should have the option to shop there.

  8. @Robert – It’s all in the execution, isn’t it? There are good examples of companies that do not have unions but who provide excellent benefits for their employees and treat them like a human RESOURCE, not as human CAPITAL — those companies could not fairly be called evil, to your point. Now, i don’t think anyone has an innate right to have a union and non-union choice for their shopping but in this case it’s a moot point: as soon as those doors swing open, you will have your option!

  9. Workers are human capital. The company wants to make money and they need people. They offer $______ to do task and if it sounds like a good deal to the person they take it.

    Paying higher wages/benefits doesn’t make the worker more valuable.

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