Miami-based muralist Brian Peterson is tackling a task that marks a milestone in his career: his tallest mural yet. And for Long Beach Walls—the annual celebration of muralists painting walls across town—it marks a milestone as well. It will become Long Beach’s tallest mural, stretching some 86 feet into the air. (It is not, however, the largest; that honor belongs to the middling Wyland whale mural on the Arena that every visitor mistakes as the aquarium.)
Even more, the mural marks the first design that was a direct collaboration with his wife. And that makes sense: the beautiful, fluid femininity of the massive piece is its most astonishing feature outside its sheer size.
“My wife? She’s a visionary,” Brian said, noting the family-centric part of being an artist as his genial, charismatic brother Sean helps paint beside him. “I’ve long asked her: Be a part of the work. And this time, she did—and you can tell she’s been a part of it because I sent her a picture and she said, ‘She looks beautiful.’ She always told me if I depict women, make them feel beautiful.”
And the piece reflects beauty on all angles: The angle with which the figure is posed, her eyes, her hair, the colors… They combine to create a towering, woman-forward greeting to those heading eastward on Ocean or north on Pine. With bubbles—”My daughter loves bubbles,” he noted—floating, the piece acts as a subconscious dedication to his children.
“My wife and I didn’t sit down and say, ‘Let’s design something that our kids would love.’ But I think you portray—directly or indirectly—what you love.”
So who is Brian Peterson?
Brian has built a remarkable reputation for painting soulful, geometric portraits that honor both community and spirit. Rooted in his vibrant hometown of Miami and extending across Southern California, Brian’s work channels bold color palettes and simplified forms, creating murals that feel both modern and deeply human.
He first gained attention with his nonprofit initiative, Faces of Santa Ana, which later grew into Faces of Mankind. Starting in 2015, Brian painted portraits of neighbors experiencing homelessness—each painting sold to benefit its subject. That project has helped over 150 individuals in cities like Detroit, Anaheim, Miami, and Los Angeles. Brian’s work extends far beyond portraits. From towering tributes like his Kobe and Gianna “Courthedral” mural in LA, to community-centered installations for veterans and rescue missions, every piece follows his philosophy of celebrating dignity and shared humanity.
In each project, Brian embraces the challenges of large‑scale public art. His mindful design process begins with client input and culminates in meticulous execution, utilizing digital mockups, spray paint techniques, and often days spent immersed in the wall itself. His aim? A mural that resonates: “I want it to feel like it could only exist here,” he said. Brian’s art lives at the intersection of creative practice and community uplift. He’s more than a painter—he’s a catalyst. His murals don’t just beautify public spaces; they spark conversations, honor stories, and invite onlookers to pause, reflect, and connect.
Brian Peterson’s work naturally led him to Long Beach.
“I’ve been in art school since third grade,” Brian said. “My teacher told my parents I didn’t pay attention in class, just always drew. So from third grade to college, I’ve always been an artist thanks to my parents. But mural art, like you see today? I was a car designer for like 15 years before I became a muralist. Worked for Chrysler Motor Group and Kia Motors. I designed a couple of cars that are on the road today.”
And when looking at his 86-foot-tall mural, the signs are there: Panels that resemble the slickness of a car’s shape are present. There’s a built-in “speed” to the piece, where colors are simultaneously juxtaposed by their geometrics but then assimilated by their contrasting color cousins. Skin tones—dark to brown to beige—flow seamlessly. Chunks of colored shapes become bubbles when stepping out far enough to see the sheer scope of it all.
“When I paint, I bring all of that,” Brian said. “Computer skills. Presentation skills. Speed. People ask how I paint so fast—it’s because in car design, you have to draw fast. I’ve trained myself always to work fast. I don’t know how to work slowly.”
For brother Sean—who began working with Brian four years ago—the work has proved fulfilling, challenging, and, in all frankness, outright fun even if the Long Beach wind is literally blowing you away from a building at 50-something feet in the air.
But the work for Brian Peterson’s mural in Long Beach has been anything but easy.
“Every mural we do kind of feels like an adventure,” Sean said. “New spaces. New cultures. New challenges. There’s always some kind of adversity. This particular one has been a lot for us because it’s our tallest mural yet.”
That means far more than just literally getting up there. It meant figuring out how to get the projector onto the building in order to trace out proportions—”You have no idea how horrible your circle is until you step back,” Sean said, laughing. And while they were granted a little grace on a clutch night—”The one night we really needed it, to get the proportions of her face just right, someone who owned a parking spot in the garage let us in.”
From there? They had to use Photoshop to flip, alter, and rotate the image to line with everything from a projector on ground level. The rest? Left up to the mural gods. “But when you’re projecting from below, shadows get in the way and limit how far up you can go,” Brian said. “Now, we’re experimenting with VR goggles—mapping it from below, then going up to paint.”
As for the rest, you can catch Brian and Sean finishing up over the next few days at 6AM because the later morning and early afternoon winds? They cause their 1,500-pound suspension lift to sway in ways no one—even attached with harnesses to the lift—would want to experience.
