My First Time in Los Angeles

My first time painting in Los Angeles was for something I will never forget.

I was invited to Los Angeles to create a huge mural dedicated to Kobe Bryant, just a couple of blocks from the Lakers’ arena. It was an incredible opportunity, but also a project that carried a lot of weight.

Kobe had passed away two years earlier, and by then Los Angeles was already filled with tributes to him. I didn’t want to create another mural simply celebrating the basketball player or the Lakers.

The idea was to show a different side of Kobe.

Beyond Basketball

After his basketball career, Kobe dedicated a huge part of his energy to storytelling, creativity and inspiring the next generation through his work with Granity Studios.

That became the central idea behind GRANA.

For my part of the mural, I painted a massive black-and-white portrait of Kobe. I wanted the face to dominate the wall — powerful, quiet and intense.

Next to him, I painted the Black Mamba, one of the strongest symbols associated with Kobe. The snake represents the intensity, determination and alter ego that became such an important part of his story.

On the other side of the mural was the more colourful world of Kobe’s stories and children’s books, created by illustrator Nikkolas Smith.

The two sides were very different visually, but together they represented two sides of Kobe: his competitive and relentless nature, and his creative vision and desire to inspire children.

Ten Days in Los Angeles

The mural took around ten days to paint.

It was intense from beginning to end. The scale was huge, the deadline was tight, and this was my first time painting in Los Angeles — so there was naturally a lot riding on it.

And somewhere in the middle of those ten days, I caught COVID.

Not exactly the best timing.

But the wall had to keep moving, so I kept going.

Standing in front of that massive portrait every day, in the middle of Los Angeles, was something I won’t forget.

The finished mural measured around 125 feet wide by 32 feet high, covering an entire side of the building. At the time, it was described as the largest portrait of Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles.

A Tribute to a Different Kobe

For me, GRANA wasn’t really about basketball.

It was about legacy.

About what someone leaves behind after they’re gone. About creativity, ambition, inspiration and the ability to influence people beyond your own field.

Kobe was obviously one of the greatest basketball players ever, but that wasn’t the story I wanted to tell with this wall.

I wanted to paint the man behind the legend.

My first time in Los Angeles.
Ten intense days.
A massive wall.
A Black Mamba.
And a portrait of Kobe Bryant that I painted with enormous pride.

GRANA — Los Angeles, August 2022.

A tribute to Kobe Bryant and to the idea that greatness can continue to inspire long after the person is gone.