In the heart of downtown San Jose, City Fish has long been a beloved culinary destination. Recently, this iconic restaurant added a new layer of charm and community spirit with a seventeen-foot mural that I had the privilege of designing and painting. The project was born from a conversation with Daniel, the franchise owner, who wanted a mural that would reflect and invite the community into his flagship restaurant. His vision was clear: something that children would find captivating and fun while their parents perused the menu, and a piece that would represent the diverse community in downtown San Jose, from City Hall workers to Sharks fans, transplants to natives, SJSU students, and the all of unique neighbors who share the city and it’s annual heartbeat of community events, sports, music, culture, art, and most importantly- positivity and fun!

San Jose as a Sunday Comic

Drawing inspiration from the boundary-pushing style of Sunday comics, particularly the works of Bill Watterson. I envisioned a mural that would break traditional frames. I loved the way comics could have drawings and story both inside and outside the panels, with monochromatic backgrounds contrasted by panels with vibrant, saturated colors to tell both main story and context simultaneously and also chronologically. Influences from San Francisco comic book artist J.H. Williams and San Jose artist Patron, a previous mural collaborator with me, also played a role in imagining the concept. Williams’ unique comic panel layouts and static-yet-animated storytelling, combined with Patron’s attention to subtle detail and layered complexity, inspired me to create a mural rich with visual depth and striking panels.

The mural’s background is painted in Pacific blue, echoing the colors of San Jose’s hometown NHL team, the Sharks. It features a monochromatic line-painting of a somewhat realistic view of Santa Clara Street and the neighboring City Hall. This section meticulously captures San Jose City Hall’s iconic dome and several historic buildings on the block, including the “Italian Bank Building.” The street view vanishes into the vibrant cultural hub of East San Jose, adding a touch of authenticity and local pride.

The comic strip panels within the mural celebrate various iconic San Jose events and landmarks as well as my own experience in downtown San Jose over the past ten years. I have especially fond memories of and wanted to commemorate: Jazzfest (Summerfest AND Winterfest), Christmas in the Park at the Circle of Palms, the Sharks entering the SAP Center ice, and the vibrant street festivals that define San Jose’s communal spirit and annual heartbeat driven by these and other community events. Each inset panel is whimsically reimagined as if San Jose were inhabited by human-fish hybrid characters. The NHL Sharks are depicted as literal sharks, while the SJSU Spartan becomes a goldfish headed ancient soldier surrounded by jellyfish and fish-faced students.

The mural features several characters who are directly connected to and inspired by real world people. This was my favorite way to add character and detail to this mural as I developed it. I wanted to tribute a friend, make a specific person smile and laugh when they saw the painting, or add unique detail by including someone who had made a significant mark on my experience living downtown. These “Eatser Egg” tributes and references include:

My Summerfest jazz fish-musicians were originally drawn to tribute the Monterey Bay Aquarium, connecting several of my early bay area loves. But during the painting, I made a last minute switch in the design to change one character to refer to a Pokemon that I was hunting! My daughter and I got to know each other and bonded over Pokemon Go in 2015 and it continued to be a fun way to bond and connect in 2020. So in a funny, joyful and unique way, Pokemon Go represents, for me, a huge connection to the grind of building my family and my home over ten years in San Jose. My daughter and I got ADOPTED in Jan 2020 right before I painted this mural in March of 2020, so I wanted to connect a Pokemon into a panel to remind myself of that joy of becoming a Dad in San Jose.

One panel pays tribute to my neighbor Florina, another SJ transplant, who is tributed here as I remember her skating in the Circle of Palms during Christmas in the Park. Florina was my neighbor for several years, and was always a great and loyal friend to my newly forming family. We met when she showed up at one of our annual 4th of July parties, and introduced herself with an inspiring story of self assurance and liberation. We became fast friends. Over the years, I learned that my friend helped to create software that verified the first free elections for Romania, and was an exceptional figure skater. She could be found every week, in the evening all winter long gliding around the Circle of Palms, a place where I also have many fond memories with family and friends.

Community Collaboration and Creation

Painting the mural was a labor of love, completed over thirty nights after City Fish closed each evening. During this time, my best friend John Louis-Jean and his family, who had recently moved to San Jose, were staying with me as they looked for their new home in the Bay Area. The COVID-19 pandemic hit during this time, but for us it brought a silver lining of spending quality time together that we never could have found in our adult lives.

John is a talented artist, writer and music producer from Miami and we engaged in several creative projects during this period. Among my favorite collaborations was working on the City Fish mural every night. We pushed each other to new heights of creativity and skill, laughing, telling stories, and deepening our friendship of over 25 years. When the mural was finished we both brought our mothers to San Jose to enjoy lunch together with our biggest fans while we chatted about our favorites aspects and experiences in creating the mural (as well as revealing a few SUPER secret easter eggs we included for our family!)

The mural’s creation was also a communal effort, with several local artists joining for an evening of painting. Ken Thrift, a well-known San Jose abstract painter, and Ny Nguyen, both co-founders of the local “Painting Party” group-paint-along events with me in 2014, contributed their talents. Their involvement added to the mural’s richness and diversity, truly making it a product of the community.

Ny Nguyen, a San Jose native, is an outstanding painter and accomplished designer. I have learned more from Ny about painting than from any teacher I had in college or elsewhere- and I say that with apologies to those great mentors, but Ny really pushed me and kept me accountable to my goals in ways I had never been challenged. We painted together for hours and hours on Sundays over the course of two or three years at our Painting party events, co-created with Ken Thrift. We created these events to allow ourselves to get to know each other’s work and give each other critique in the knowledgeable way that comes from an ongoing relationship. It was like going to the gym with gym buddies, but for painting. And we always invited drop-in painters, neighbors and those completely inexperienced in painting to join us, always keeping communal canvases and paints on hand at the events.

Ny and his partner are responsible for painting our some of the most beautiful elements of the background depictions of Santa Clara Street. Ny is also responsible for pushing the creative element in these detail scenes by challening me and holding em accointable once again, in the doldrums of the grid that small details can be, to create beyond my dream at every step and I am greateful to him once again.

Ken and I became friends within the first hour of our meeting, discovering that we shared a dedication to painting and music. I love Ken’s abstract work for his color pallette. I love vibrant and saturated colors, and Ken works with these types of colors but create a color palette that is so RICH! He pushed me on color choice for hours night after night on this mural and he really brought me and this mural’s color to another level through his feedback and input.

Painting this mural in downtown San Jose was so significant in connecting me and rooting me into downtown San Jose. I’ve moved every 8-12 years throughout my life. As a result, while I have fond memories and attachments to many places, I can’t really call anything home, describe where I grew up, or long for a place to return to. So I have some pride in choosing San Jose and simply building a home and connecting to a community that is as eager to be found as I was to find it. The gift of opportunity to contribute a piece of public art in the heart of downtown, really makes me feel like I belong here.

For me, the mural at City Fish is more than a mural; it’s a celebration of San Jose’s spirit and diversity. I hope that it invites everyone to see themselves in its vibrant scenes, whether they’re newcomers, or long-time residents. I hope that it is a testament to the openness, friendship and connection and liveliness in our community, and that it reflects the uniqueness of our esthetic that make San Jose (in my opinion) the best place for community and belonging.

Next time you’re downtown, stop by City Fish, enjoy a delicious chowder or fish and chips, and take in the mural that I hope encapsulates some of the fun and character of San Jose. Whether you’re a local or a visitor, I hope that there’s something in it for everyone to enjoy and connect with.