Roof Art - A Mural for the Sky

Roof Art has been around for years. Normally the artwork is a theme of what the business is.

Like different colors of shingles like that of a Minnesota barn, weaved into a 70-foot design of a brown and white dairy cow, or a bright yellow shark on top of a flat roof of a biological field station in the Bahamas. There are many art designs on roofs I have seen, but the coolest roof art of all . . . . is in Seattle Washington.

Marlin Peterson and artist was commissioned by Washington State Art Trust to paint a mural anywhere in Seattle. Marlin’s typical murals are on city walls but he wanted to change it up a little and after gaining permission with the Seattle Center Armory, he began his next mural on the roof. Being just below the famous Space Needle, Marlin would have a fresh audience every day. One can only imagine what goes on in the mind of an artist and how they pick their next subject but I really like this mural and I am amazed at how realistic the two characters turned out to be.

Building a model himself, using lighting to create shadows and with simple math, he came up with a design for his roof art. He prepared the slightly pitched, mineral surfaced roof by sweeping and scrubbing off seagull droppings. Marlin said to me that, “at first the seagulls were frightened by him but soon returned to inspect his work and deposit more droppings daily.” In a short 2 1/2 weeks, Marlin completed a pair of Daddy Long Legs crawling across the rooftop of the Seattle Center which is a Food Court at this time. One spider spanning almost 100 feet the other about 80. The correct name for these spiders is Arachnids. { A-rack-nids } They are in the scorpion and tick family and are said not to be spiders at all.

Marlin Peterson started this mural in 2012 and the mural is still there. . . . as of this blog writing. The Daddy Long Legs roof art has been maintained every few years by Marlin and will be there until the roof is redone. Hopefully long enough for you to see for your self from the Seattle Space Needle.

For more information about Marlin Peterson and his art please visit his website and Facebook. The use of these photos is restricted. Please respect Marlin's art.

Have a question? AskARoofer.

Find your local roofing contractor in the RoofersCoffeeShop® Contractor Directory.