Not far from his earliest signal-box work – portraits of Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain – artist Desmond Hansen has painted another mural on California Avenue SW in Morgan Junction. This one was for, and of, the O’Neill Plumbing (WSB sponsor) family. That’s Tim O’Neill in our photo, taken this morning. The mural is on the north side of the former Sub Shop building into which the O’Neill Plumbing HQ has expanded. O’Neill Plumbing is one of West Seattle’s longest-running businesses, founded in 1917.

(WSB photo)

That’s the newest signal-box portrait painted by West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen. It’s at California and Hanford [map]; a reader tipped us about it today. It’s a tribute to Earl Robinson (1910-1991), an accomplished composer who spent his early and late life in West Seattle. His life was chronicled by West Seattle filmmaker, storyteller, and educator B.J. Bullert in a televised documentary, “Earl Robinson: Ballad of an American,” after his death in 1991 in a car crash on Admiral Way.

You can also thank Bullert for the new portrait, as well as Hansen – it’s the result of her winning bid at this year’s Southwest Seattle Historical Society auction (as we noted in our report on that event). After her $1,200 bid scored the right to commission a box by Hansen (his donation for the auction), she said she was envisioning Earl Robinson. She was there today as Hansen worked on the box:

(Photo by Ken Workman)

The location is doubly relevant – Mr. Robinson attended West Seattle High School, around the corner, and, Bullert says, lived at 41st and Manning, blocks away, a few years before his death. Some of his better-known songs, she says, are “Joe Hill” – “Joan Baez sang ‘Joe Hill’ as did many on picket lines. Frank Sinatra sang ‘The House I Live In,’ and Paul Robeson sang ‘Ballad for Americans.’ Three Dog Night made ‘Black and White’ a hit. Lots more. One of his last songs was ‘Message from a New Address’ about death. It’s in the film.” In addition to watching her film, you can learn more about Earl Robinson from this HistoryLink essay.

Thanks for the tips! We just caught up with West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen finishing this new signal-box portrait, on the southwest corner of California/Frontenac south of Morgan Junction. It’s a portrait of Mike Starr, original Alice in Chains bassist, who died in 2011 at age 44. Hansen estimates he’s painted about 75 boxes – in and outside of West Seattle – since starting in 2018 with Jimi Hendrix at California/Fauntleroy. You can see many of them, and some of his other work, on his website. We asked him what’s next; nothing specific yet, but he said there’s a lot of maintenance to be done this spring.

Canna West Culture Shop, a designated stop on the map (5435 California Ave SW) during each West Seattle Art Walk, this Thursday is hosting Seattle mural artist and painter Desmond Hansen from 5:00 – 8:00 pm. Hansen is best known for the 60+ murals he has painted of cultural icons on Seattle’s traffic-signal boxes, but he is also an illustrator, graphic artist, and traditional canvas painter.

“I love Desmond’s work,” said Canna West Culture Shop owner Maryam Mirnateghi. “I think most of us that commute in the Seattle area have been struck by his signal box murals. Those who walk along California Avenue get to experience his murals right outside of our Culture Shop, and often enter our shop wondering who created them, and how! His talent extends beyond his amazing murals though, and I am really excited to host his artwork at the Culture Shop during this week’s Art Walk.”

Desmond will be at the Culture Shop as a party guest and to sign prints of his artwork. His signal box murals have a presence in West Seattle, with locations in Morgan Junction and at the intersection of California and Fauntleroy, a box that has become almost a signature piece for Desmond and which honors Seattle local Jimi Hendix. This week’s West Seattle Art Walk offers fans of Desmond a rare chance to not only check out more of his work and potentially buy a print for a Christmas present, but also to meet the artist and have that print signed.

Complimentary food bites from West Seattle Charcuterie, and beverages will be served. In addition, the Culture Shop is conducting a food drive for the West Seattle Food Bank through December 31. Anyone who wants to donate this holiday season can drop any non-perishable food items at the Culture Shop. After-hours food donations can be deposited at Canna West Seattle, located directly across the street. The Culture Shop will only accept non-perishable food items that are unopened and in good condition.

Every time we’ve seen West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen, he’s been out along a street, in protective gear, painting a signal box. Tonight, a different setting, and some of his other work:

As previewed here earlier this week, Hansen is the featured artist tonight for the West Seattle Art Walk debut of the new West Seattle Realty (WSB sponsor) office at 2715 California SW. He painted a Seacrest Pier mural on the office’s north interior wall, and other creations of his are on display tonight and throughout the month – including these:

Around the corner from West Seattle Realty, we found Carla Dreams Nitkey at Good Society (2701 California SW), showing her abstract/expressionist work inspired by feng shui principles:

Three Art of Music performances enhanced tonight’s Art Walk, too – we caught part of Sarah Brunner‘s set at West Seattle Grounds (2141 California SW):

Next month’s Art Walk is an ectra-festive holiday edition, Thursday, December 8th.

Thanks to Brandy for sending the photo! That’s West Seattle muralist Desmond Hansen, working today on his newest signal-box portrait. It’s on the southwest corner of 35th and Trenton, and in case you don’t recognize the subject, we noticed in passing that the north side of the box now identifies him – Portland drummer Joe Plummer, known for his work with bands including Modest Mouse. (Added – commenter points out Plummer has Portland roots but calls West Seattle home!)

More thanks to the person who tipped us about Super Supplements‘ closure plan – they also told us West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen was painting a new signal-box mural steps away, on the northeast corner of California/Fauntleroy. His new portrait of Jimi Hendrix is on the back of the cabinet on which he painted the rock legend four years ago this month. That anniversary, he told us today, is the inspiration for the new painting. He’s since branched out far beyond West Seattle; you can see more of his work here.

Thanks to Dan Kearney for the photo. West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen painted that signal box at 35th/Henderson, just north of Southwest Library, this weekend. He wrote on Instagram that the box is dedicated “to children living with disabilities and special needs” – read his full explanation here.

Just noticed this one while headed out on an errand – Ray Charles, painted by Desmond Hansen on the cabinet at the northwest corner of 35th/Thistle. Unless we’ve missed one, this is the first one we’ve heard about since these two months ago.

Thanks to the texter who sent that photo of a new Desmond Hansen signal-box portrait – it’s at Delridge/Genesee, a tribute to Mark “Monk” Hubbard of Grindline, designers of the nearby skatepark and many more. The artist tells a detailed story on Instagram about an encounter with the skatepark luminary, a West Seattle resident who died last year. While checking Instagram for more on that box, we noticed Hansen also has just completed one featuring wildlife, so we went by for a photo:

(WSB photo)

That one’s at Fauntleroy/Dawson.

1:57 PM: Thanks to Dave Brewer for sending the photo! He’s one of several readers who messaged us to say artist Desmond Hansen is painting another signal-box portrait today, this time the late, great Prince, at 47th and Admiral. Dave observes that it’s an appropriate spot, as SW Prince Street is just blocks away! (Checking the artist’s Instagram page, we see he’s also recently painted Dave Matthews.)

7:11 PM: Thanks to Al for this photo of the finished creation:

Thanks to Andy for the photo – Desmond Hansen‘s newest signal-box portrait is at California/Stevens, just outside the West Seattle High School campus. This one depicts Mia Zapata, the rising Seattle singer murdered in 1993. And yes, for those who have asked, the artist is still crowdfunding to cover expenses. We first reported on Hansen’s project – which started with a Jimi Hendrix portrait in Morgan Junction – in March 2018.

Thanks to Lynda B for the photo – that’s Desmond Hansen’s latest signal-box portrait, Seattle’s own Sir Mix-A-Lot, at 35th/Raymond near the High Point Library.

Thanks to Mike for the tip – he saw West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen painting that signal box on the northwest corner of 15th/Roxbury on Tuesday; we went by to see the finished work today. This one’s another Seattle rock ‘n’ roll tribute – Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone. Hansen’s signal-box tributes started with Jimi Hendrix in Morgan Junction in March 2018.

Thanks for the photo! A reader sent us that as artist Desmond Hansen worked on his newest signal-box portrait this afternoon, this time at Fauntleroy/Avalon. (Thanks also to the person who sent a text-only tip earlier; we subsequently passed the scene but were unable to get a photo.) If somehow you don’t recognize the faces, they are the Seattle rock ‘n’ roll sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart. They’re the first women in Hansen’s set of tributes; he had said on Instagram that he had “a bunch of female icons coming up.”

Thanks for the tips! After word that artist Desmond Hansen was working on yet another signal box – this time at 35th SW and SW Roxbury on the north edge of Arbor Heights – we went over for a look. We found the artist packing up to take a break for some errands; he says this is a portrait of karate legend Chojun Miyagi (who is quoted on the website for West Seattle Karate, just steps away from the box). He’ll be back to finish it later today. This is his 10th signal box – here’s a montage of the first 9.

Thanks to the reader who sent photos of West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen‘s latest signal-box work:

That one, at 35th and Fauntleroy, is Nikola Tesla (here’s a picture on Hansen’s Instagram account, including finishing touches). Nearby, at 35th/Avalon:

That’s since been completed too – as you can see here, it’s Macklemore. It’s been almost 11 months since the artist started his project.

Thanks to Nicole for the photos! Graves (aka Desmond) Hansen has just painted another signal-box portrait … this time, a tribute to Kurt Cobain on the southeast corner of California/Graham. He actually painted this signal box first, as we showed you more than a month ago, but it just held the swirling background pattern until he added Kurt today. (Nicole’s photo below features Hansen at right, an assistant Dozer at left:)

He’s also continuing to collect donations to cover his costs. His previous four signal-box portraits are Jimi Hendrix at California/Morgan, Bruce Lee at 35th/Morgan, Chris Cornell at 35th/Alaska, and Layne Staley at Harbor/Spokane.

Over the weekend, West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen painted a tribute portrait on a fourth local signal box. This time, it’s Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, and it’s on the northwest corner of the Avalon/Harbor/Spokane intersection. That follows Jimi Hendrix at California/Fauntleroy (featured here March 7th), Bruce Lee at 35th/Morgan (featured here March 10th), and Chris Cornell at 35th/Alaska (here’s the artist’s Instagram photo). Hansen also launched a crowdfunding page to raise money for supplies, and it’s already past its goal; in a video accompanying it, he says he might even take the project citywide.

(WSB photos)

Morgan Junction has joined the ranks of West Seattle neighborhoods with signal-box art. After spotting this work in progress while passing through California/Fauntleroy earlier today, we went back for a photo. The artist is Desmond Hansen; he described the project on Instagram as “donating my time to the community.” In addition to the Jimi Hendrix portrait, he also painted this box one block north:

Delridge signal boxes were painted in 2013; signal boxes in The Junction were wrapped in 2014.

(Photo courtesy Stu Hennessey)

That signal-box portrait on 16th SW north of SW Holden has turned from a tribute to a memorial, after sad news from Arizona. As reported here in October 2020, the box was commissioned from prolific painter Desmond Hansen as a tribute to Sue Turner and Bud Turner, local educators renowned for their PE achievements. Ms. Turner, 76, was especially beloved at Sanislo Elementary, where she long served as PE teacher. She was reported missing in the Tucson area last month, with a Silver Alert issued, but after a two-week search, authorities reported she was found deceased. News stories from Arizona have no further details. Bud Turner died a year ago at age 77; the couple had been married for 52 years.

The Fauntleroy/Avalon vicinity already has the collaborative mural at Viva Arts (2021) and Desmond Hansen‘s Heart signal-box portrait (2019). Now add a new mural at the temporarily closed Starbucks. After a tip from Ian (thank you), we went over Sunday for a pic, and asked Starbucks about the mural today. It’s by artist Kyler Martz, who “has a place in Pigeon Point,” explained spokesperson Sam Jefferies. He added, “This mural is a celebration of West Seattle. Kyler gave nods to the Alki Lighthouse, the Fauntleroy ferry, mountains, and the ocean. The mythical giant octopus of Puget Sound (who often appears in Kyler’s work) is serving coffee to all. If you look carefully, you might find Kyler’s beloved cat Eddie and dog Penny hiding in the mural.” (Our archives show one previous mention of the artist – a mural at what was Bishop’s Barbershop and has since become Rudy’s. No file photo.) As for when the store will reopen – no date set yet, but it’s expected to happen before month’s end.

THURSDAY, September 12th: WORDS, WRITERS, SOUTHWEST STORIES PRESENTS (register here):

B.J. Bullert
Southwest Seattle Historical Society and historian, author, and documentary filmmaker

Join the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and historian, author, and documentary filmmaker, BJ Bullert, for our next Words, Writers & Southwest Stories on Thursday, September 12.

Bullert will discuss her work as a documentarian of local history. She will share examples of films and projects she has completed on Earl Robinson, the West Seattle composer featured in a new Desmond Hansen at SW Hanford St and California Ave SW, the Duwamish Tribe, as well as her work with the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.

B.J. Bullert is a communication scholar and a documentary filmmaker.

Bullert has taught communication at American University, Muhlenberg College, and the University of Washington. She has served as a Research Fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University, where she studied the integral role of public relations professionals in shaping the sweatshop awareness movement. At Oxford, she studied the history of ideas and wrote a thesis about Adam Smith and the Unenlightened.

Bullert maintains an ongoing career as a documentary filmmaker. Her company, Seattle Films Hidden Histories LLC, is dedicated to producing works about the Pacific Northwest.