Undersea Mural Overhead

A detail of the large ceiling section showing long spiral shell; R Williamson; 5/21

Fan Tang Asian Cafe will soon be opening in Kirkland, WA and owner Sheng Zhao asked me to paint a mural on the ceiling lid over the entry. The image area extends down a wall at one end where the menu monitors will be placed. While the initial direction was discussed as highly energetic collaged/layered graphics, it soon changed to something completely different. Sheng and his wife Ling had become taken with the pictures of the Hani Pacific project that I did for the NYC Nordstoms flagship store in 2019, and this became the new direction.

A detail of a wall and ceiling section showing the stylized reef; R Williamson; 5/21

While Hani Pacific had been a digital creation that was printed on vinyl and installed on the walls, this mural is done all by hand-painting, which of course meant working over my head while standing on a ladder. The effect is quite different from the printed version as this had to be bolder and more simplified in order to be finished within the time constraint of 8 days.

Fan Tang mural detail - blue tape masks the outlets that will feed the menu monitors; R Williamson, 5/21

The space is still very much a construction site, so for the moment I’m just posting a few details. In a month I’ll post some shots of the final outcome in the context of the other interior elements. The restaurant itself will feature authentic cuisine of Hunan Province and should be open to the pubic in early June.

Fan Tang - undersea mural showing menu wall while still under construction; R Williamson; 5/21