Ever Wonder Who Painted the Signage for Some of Half Moon Bay's Businesses?

He’s 28, a graphic designer, fine artist, illustrator, and typographer living in El Granada, and you’ve seen his work around town but maybe you didn't know that it was a Coastsider who did it.

He’s Brendan Foster, a local talent that painted a 45-foot trailer for the Half Moon Bay Dream Machines last year, which led to panel truck advertisements for Brazzle Berry, the Sofa Outlet, Mi Ranchito Market, Harbor Village Pumpkin Patch / Christmas Tree lot, Coastside Original Apparel and most recently, a piece for Ocean Shore Hardware.

For the past few weeks El Granada residents have had the pleasure of watching Foster paint two 4x8 foot signage boards in his driveway for the owner of Ocean Shore Hardware, Richard Hasset. The commissioned job is to fill wall space above the interior paint department and reflect on the history of Half Moon Bay and the original Ocean Shore Railway.

The end result is spectacular and very cool. Foster created an optical illusion through depth and proportion to capture an impression of the historical content and execute a true representation of the Coastside.

“I enjoy the challenge of every job that requires expanding art in large scale ratios,” he said. “In this particular production I was challenged by the panoramic perspective given by the parameters of the available surface area.”

The pieces were mounted in the store as soon as he delivered them on Wednesday, Feb. 20, and standout as a fine work of art.

The Half Moon Bay High School graduate, who obtained his bachelor degree of science in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of California San Francisco, started drawing when he was 3 years old, began airbrushing surfboards when he was 15, and entered art contests and submitted work into shows in galleries in his 20s.

He’s painted large-scale productions in venues in San Francisco with established aspiring artists, designs graphics for Coastside Original Apparel, does freelance design work for local construction companies, paints fine art for shows in galleries in San Francisco, and creates Tattoo concepts for close friends and custom signage for local businesses.

“I realized that I should pursue college for graphic design because I always dreamed of working on a creative team for a major company in the active sports industry,” he said.

His dream job? “I truly feel like I am living my dream in what I currently do as an artist. I wish to excel and remain humble and provide a unique aesthetic as a graphic designer for Santa Cruz Skateboards and apprentice to become a professional tattoo artist in the future.”

Brendan Foster can be reached at 650-678-4641 or brenfoster@gmail.com.

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