Austin Picinich is an artist, a Juanita High School senior, a business owner, and founder of the Save Our Salmon "SOS" Through Art initiative. Rotarians may have seen his art booth, Austin's Awesome Art, at Kirkland Summerfest, Kirkland Wednesday Market, or one of 44 other art festivals over the past two summers. Austin’s art appears in 57 shops across Washington state, including six in Kirkland.
This past year, Austin painted a 112-foot-long Save Our Salmon Mural across from Juanita Creek, hosted a Community Paint Day in April 2022 leading 370 volunteers painting his design onto Spud’s wall. He’s painted two other SOS Murals along nearby McAleer Creek, and will lead four more murals with Community Paint Days in summer 2023. His Save Our Salmon Murals were featured in KING 5 Evening, KOMO 4, Seattle Refined, 425 Magazine, The Seattle Times, and the national Inspiring Young Heroes documentary.