SEATTLE — When Victor Meléndez was growing up in Mexico City, he and his friends would express themselves stealthily through graffiti. Now when he leaves his mark on a wall, it's because someone commissioned him to do it.
"Ever since I was a kid I like to draw, I like to paint, and my mom always encouraged me to keep going," Meléndez said.
In the early '90s, Meléndez left Mexico to pursue love and art in Seattle. But those weren't the only things he fell for when he got here.
"Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, all of that stuff was a big, big influence on me," Meléndez said.
Music and event posters were one of the first things the West Seattle-based artist created. In addition to those, he spent years working at Starbucks where he honed his design skills for the renowned coffee giant.
"It was really cool because I got to start working on a real design project like that they will actually be produced. So, it was a great, great opportunity," Meléndez said.
His unique blend of vibrant colors and cultural influences makes Meléndez’s work stand out. None more than his murals, like this one he made in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood.
"That mural over there in Ballard was really cool. That was one of the biggest ones I've done," Meléndez said. "It was like my homage to Washington State or like, try to show the beautiful Pacific Northwest."
Now his work is reaching his biggest audience yet, on one of the smallest displays around, a United States postal stamp.
"The assignment was to do a piñata stamp within the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month," Meléndez said.
The pinata he made is based on fond childhood memories and was picked from hundreds of other entries.
"I'm very happy with it," Meléndez said. "And it's one of the biggest projects I've had so far."
While Meléndez takes immense pride in his Mexican heritage, he wants to be recognized as more than just a Latino artist.
"I always think of my work as being influenced by the two worlds or the two cultures I grew up around," Meléndez said. "One obviously being Mexico or Mexico City and Veracruz where my family's from, but the other part is the opposite like the American, Seattle specifically."
Art will always be subjective. But Victor Melendez’s journey from Mexico to Seattle shows his work knows no boundaries.
"I'm always trying to do something new," Meléndez said.
KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email.