The lobby in the Assembly 118 apartment complex is cavernous space, and except for a few pillows and couches, devoid of color. Or was until I completed a mural for the long wall facing the seating area. The building is immediately adjacent to the Othello Station on the Sound Transit Link light rail line in south Seattle, and the neighborhood is considered the most historically diverse area in all of Seattle.

Brightly colored figures over a glazed background of violets and blue green, the composition is populated with all manner of figures on wheels. A few of the wheels are electric but most are human powered. I’ve wanted to do a piece that played with the wide variety of personal transit devices that now swarm the city and the idea caught the attention of the owners as they looked for a theme that all could relate to.

In the composition I’ve got 10 speed bicycles, a folding bike, a BMX bike, cargo bikes, motor scooter, unicycle, skateboards, mono wheel, and one wheel. The element that gets the most comments from the tenants who’ve been walking by while I painted over the past two weeks is the orange dog in the bike basket in the center of the image. Some things are so predictable.

The lobby will eventually house a small cafe or similar on the far end. In the mezzanine upstairs are social games and a media lounge with lots of opportunities for casual group events. The design was influenced in large part by the work of the Pine Street Group project at Via6 in downtown Seatte. Unbeknownst to the owners who contacted me for this, I’m well represented with mural work in the common areas of the first floor, which made working here feel oddly familiar, in a good way..