Help Us Paint a “Welcome to Kirkland” Mural
📍 Lake Street - downtown Kirkland, WA
COMING SOON - SEPTERMBER 2025
Community Paint Day - in downtown Kirkland!
Where at: Lake Street
📍 downtown Kirkland, WA
We’ll be painting this 144-foot-long concrete retaining wall on Lake Street & 2nd Ave S in downtown Kirkland (across from Ben & Jerry’s and Anthony’s Homeport!)
The Design: a giant postcard!
The “Welcome to Kirkland” Mural will feature a giant postcard - with each letter of KIRKLAND filled with a different part of this city we love!
See if you can recognize some of the landmarks inside the letters! (soon to be painted 144-feet long!)
We need YOUR help!
Two ways you can support this mural:
1. Donate to Help Fund the Mural
We’re fundraising for wall prep and repairs, paint, anti-graffiti and UV-protectant clearcoating, permits, brushes, and supplies.
Over the summer, our cost doubled due to unexpected prep (repairing cracks, carbon fiber reinforcement on the corners, re-sealing the expansion joints, and smoothing the entire wall surface) getting the wall ready for paint.
That means we need a little extra help from YOU to keep our date on track. This mural won’t be possible unless we raise the remaining funds from community crowdfunding contributions. We have just over $8,400 to go (with one month remaining to raise it!) - let’s do this, Kirkland!
2. Help paint at our Community Paint Day
Coming Soon! - September 2025(?)
We’re partnering with Seattle-based nonprofit Urban ArtWorks to host a Community Painting weekend in March or April 2024 (exact date TBD).
This entire mural will be painted in a “paint-by-number” format. Artist Austin Picinich will outline his design onto the wall ahead of time (like a giant coloring book - and you fill in with color!). We’ll be hosting 350+ Kirkland community members - we want YOU to come help paint!
Come join the fun, no art experience required!
Paint-by-number format!
Austin at the blank wall!
Austin Picinich is an artist from Kirkland, WA. He’s a Juanita High School graduate, and currrent student at University of Washington.
You might recognize Austin’s art from the 112-foot salmon mural he painted at Juanita Beach (on the side of SPUD!) in 2022. Austin’s murals have been featured on KING5, KOMO4, FOX13, The Seattle Times, Kirkland Lifestyle Magazine, Greet Kirkland Magazine, and the national Inspiring Young Heroes documentary.
Austin has had booths in over 40 art festivals (including Kirkland Summerfest and Kirkland Wednesday Market!) Austin’s art is carried in 70 shops across the PNW (including his paintings on the walls at Coffee & Cone in Marina Park). Most recently, Austin was Grand Marshal of Kirkland’s 2023 4th of July parade.
Austin is designing this KIRKLAND postcard mural, and he’ll outline his design onto the wall ahead of time, for you to “paint-by-number”!
Meet artist Austin from his clip on KING 5 Evening!
Connect with Austin on social media - @austins.awesome.art
Leading Organizations:
The presenting organizers of this mural are Rotary Club of Kirkland Downtown and Kirkland Parks & Community Foundation.
Community group supporters:
Local business SPONSORS:
We’re looking for more sponsors, to fund the rest of this mural!
Want to become an official sponsor of this mural, with your name/business logo on the wall, plaque, T-shirts, and website? Fill out this short form, and we’ll be in touch from Rotary president Michael Oskouian. Thanks for supporting this mural!
Stages Creating this Mural
This mural has been in the works for 8+ months! Here’s the steps coming up:
Stage 1
Fall 2023 - Prep, prime, and wall repairs
The wall has a LOT of prep work - repairing two large cracks, carbon fiber reinforcement on the corners, and re-caulking and sealing the expansion joints. Next up will be pressure wash, primer, and smoothing the entire wall surface with an elastomeric primer coating (so it’s smooth enough to paint!) The wall will turn bright white before color!
HUGE thanks to both Pioneer Masonry Restoration, Inc. and R&R Foundation Specialist for discounting time and materials for this prep.
By Spring this wall will be ready to paint!
Stage 2
Winter 2023 - Design Sketches
Going on now is DESIGN! Artist Austin Picinich created these initial draft sketches in the Spring to get the mural idea started. Now Austin is creating multiple rounds of high-detail designs and the full-color digital design.
In March, we’ll be projecting and outlining Austin’s design onto the wall (like a giant coloring book!). Then it’ll be ready to paint!
Initial sketches by austin picinich
Stage 3
Spring 2024 - Community Paint Day
The final step will be painting - we’ll be hosting 350+ community members to “paint-by-number” the mural in Spring 2024 (March or April TBD)! Painter signups opening in February!
Stay up-to-date! Want to be “in the know” about this mural?
Newsletter Signup
Kirkland Heritage Museum Tours
during the Paint Day!
Kirkland Heritage Society will be opening their museum in Heritage Hall and giving FREE tours during our Community Paint Day.
Tours will be held every hour on the :20s - (from 11:20am to 5:20pm).
If you’re a painter signed up for the 10:00-11:00 painting shift, then you’d have 20 minutes after your painting shift ends to walk three blocks to Heritage Hall (203 Market Street - at Market & Central Way) for the 11:20-12:00 tour after you paint. We highly recommend all painters join the tours - to learn more about the parts of Kirkland that you just finished painting in the mural!
The tours are free and open to the public - anyone can walk-up (regardless if painting, or not! and signing up separately for the tour is not necessary).
Meet the Tour Guide: Matt McCauley
Matt McCauley is a founding member of Kirkland Heritage Society, and founder of KirklandHistory.org. Matt has written two books, “Early Kirkland” (2017) and “A Look To The Past: Kirkland: From wilderness to high-tech” (2010). Beginning in the early 1990s, Matt wrote “A Look to the Past”, a popular weekly local history column in the old Kirkland Courier newspaper. Matt also leads a popular annual pioneer tour of the historic Kirkland Cemetery and contributes regularly to Kirkland Lifestyle magazine. On the Paint Day, Matt will be leading free tours inside Kirkland Heritage Museum - so stop by after painting!
Thanks to Kirkland Heritage Society for design research and input for the historical aspects of the mural design!
T-shirts & Merch - Coming Soon!
We’ll be selling merchandise (T-shirts, stickers, magnets, bookmarks, coloring books, prints - and of course…postcards!) made from Austin’s KIRKLAND postcard design!
So make sure to visit to shop and support, even if you’re not painting!
100% of merch proceeds will go directly to Kirkland Parks & Community Foundation to fund this mural.
Stay tuned!
FAQs
about this Welcome to Kirkland Mural:
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Nope - all supplies, brushes, and paints will be provided at the Paint Day. Just wear clothes you don’t mind getting painty.
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Kids & families are welcome (and encouraged!) to paint at our Community Paint Day.
Previous art experience is NOT required to participate. The whole design will be outlined up onto the wall ahead of time, and all you have to do is “paint by number”!
NOTE: this mural will be highly detail-oriented, so make sure you’re able to paint inside the lines. Use judgement with young kids.
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Please park in the private lot above the retaining wall (enter from 2nd Ave South). This lot belongs to Hotes Foundation (who owns the wall we’re painting) and is generously allowing the public to park there for two days only.
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Stay tuned!
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Hotes Foundation will have a video crew filming and photographing during the event. By signing up, you consent to being filmed while painting, which may be aired on news.
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You can view an interactive map of Austin’s other murals here:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1M_739oTzpxuk9yLECmD_KPspbTaT-oM
Have another question that’s not on this list? Email artist Austin at ajpicinich@gmail.com
We can’t wait to see you at the Paint Day!
Sincerely,
- artist Austin Picinich, Rotary, and the entire mural planning team!
