Anyone native to the area, can tell you we are serious about our salmon! Well, one young painter has taken big steps to show everyone just how serious we are.

Austin Picinich is a 16-year old painter/entrepreneur/philanthropist from right here in Kirkland. In speaking with Austin, you would never guess his youthful age. He is smart, driven, and dedicated to his community. This month he is raising awareness for the restoration of salmon in Juanita Creek and other North Lake Washington Creeks. A months-long project, led Austin to sketching a 112-ft mural on the side of the historical SPUD Fish & Chips restaurant in the Juanita community. It took multiple days to complete this portion, projecting his image from 6 different points on the wall. As a grand finale, he then had 140 of his closest Kirkland friends volunteer to paint the mural, adding some vivid artwork to this corner of the city. The mural includes “little red fish” or Kokanee, the original inhabitants of Lake Washington.

You can see below Office Manager Ashlie Erskine, along with broker Rob Scarber – who also serves as Treasurer for the Juanita Neighborhood Association – showing their support for Austin and his salmon fundraiser. Later joining in on the paint fun is broker Dana V Adams, who is another Kirkland resident herself. Windermere Kirkland – Central Inc, is proud to have caring, generous brokers on our team who truly care about their neighbors and the community we live in. Money raised from this event will be used to restore the local salmon population. The program will build egg incubators to aid in this process throughout local streams – including our own Juanita Creek!

To learn more about Austin, his salmon fundraiser, and his artwork, visit these sites:

https://www.austinsart.net/

https://www.austinsart.net/salmonmural

Or stop by and see the mural for yourself, and grab some Halibut and Chips while you’re there, at SPUD Fish & Chips: 9702 Juanita Dr NE, Kirkland, WA 98034.