Never Satisfied: How a Desert Muralist Found His Canvas in Westport
Drive past Steepwater Surf Shop, The Local Store, or Sea Bird Gifts and Candy lately, and you'll see it: bold color and big characters where a blank wall used to be. It's Santana Block, a muralist out of Kingman, Arizona, who's been putting up the murals around town, and it's Coyote, his longtime friend, who talked him into bringing it all here.
Muralists (and occasional graffiti artists) Santana Block (left) and Coyote (right)
The two took a painting break to sit down with the Drift and talk graffiti roots, near-precision VR outlines, and how a barber from a landlocked high desert town ended up painting Westport's dune grass. (He didn't know what dune grass was. Coyote made sure to mention it. 😂)
Coyote fishes for a living out of Westport. Painting is what he does at heart.
It was really fun watching all the people stop at Sea Bird to get a photo next to the newly painted “Welcome to Westport” sign. Shop owner Paula Bird said, “This is a great addition to the marina. It’s going to be amazing to see how many people stop to take pictures. The colors are just beautiful.”
There was genuine excitement in the air as we watched these two work their paint magic.
Paula Bird, owner of Sea Bird Gifts and Candy, stands smiling next to her newly painted Welcome to Westport Sign on the side of her shop.
How did you get into this type of art?
Santana: I started with a graffiti background. I've always been artistic and was really into drawing as a kid. So I've just kind of had that creativity in me. My dad showed me how to use a spray can when I was 15. He showed me the ropes on how to fill in and do certain techniques. Once he started showing me, it was game on. I took it to the streets. I could only paint in my backyard so much; I'm the only one who is gonna look at it. I'm 30 now, and throughout the years I've always strived to be better, do better, and learn more. I started getting small jobs in my town, and it just started growing. Over the last three years, my murals have taken off, and I've just really pushed it.
Where's the line between graffiti art and using spray paint to create murals?
Santana and Coyote also painted a sign for the new tattoo shop, Westport Ink
Coyote: The line between graffiti and this is that graffiti is illegal. We are getting paid to do these murals. But we wouldn't be able to do all this if we hadn't done graffiti first. It's really helped us put our flavor and style into the art, and we learned our techniques mostly from doing graffiti. Graffiti may be an illegal art, but to me, it's the art of the street, for the people.
Santana: I just love to create. I'm forever a student. When I see a big wall, I see a fresh canvas. I got caught doing graffiti in 2019, and it slowed me down, but it also allowed me to transition, and I started getting commissions for murals. Most recently, I did three huge walls for Kingman High School, which is where I went to school, so that was really cool. I'm not afraid of how big the wall is.
How did you two end up working together here in Westport?
Coyote: Because I live here. I'm a fisherman here. But at heart, I'm a painter. It's the one thing I'm really passionate about.
Santana: We've been friends for a while, so Coyote was seeing all these murals I've been doing, and he was like, 'We gotta do some stuff out here in Westport.' So really, he's been the one connecting the dots and making this all possible, because if it wasn't for him, then I really wouldn't know about Westport.
It's been really inspiring and motivating. My town is about 35,000 people, and a lot of people know me for my murals, and I do hear compliments like, "you're so talented," but it's from people I already know. So coming here where people don't know me, and getting a good response just confirms to me that I'm on the right path, you know? Of course Westport is very different from where I live, so Coyote has helped bring the local representation in the art.
I saw you wearing a VR headset while painting the outline. How does that actually work?
Santana: It's kind of like a stencil. It projects the image on the wall. Before, I would just have my mock-up, or my sketch, or whatever reference photo, and I would sketch it out, freehand it, the whole thing. But with the VR headset, it's so precise that your proportions are correct. You're not guessing. You're not stepping back from the wall, thinking this is off, that's off, I gotta fix this. It's really just a layout tool. And since I know how to work a can and the techniques, it has elevated my skill and what the murals have become.
You started with the mural on Steepwater Surf Shop. Next was the Local Store in Grayland and Sea Bird Gifts and Candy at the docks in Westport. What's next?
Coyote: Santana is coming back August 19th to the 23rd. We're gonna do the Pine Tree. We are also working with Cranberry Heritage to restore the historical mural on Warrenton Cannery Rd in North Cove. We are excited to get things lined up.
Will it be hard to restore the mural?
Santana: It should be easy because the foundation and the bones are already there. It's just bringing it back to life with new color, and I won't have to bring the VR out and lay out a whole new thing. The way I've learned is, you break things down into shapes, and then it's the tones, then shadows, and highlights.
Can you tell me about the paint? Is it just normal spray paint, and how long will the murals last?
Coyote: The paint is higher-end spray paint than Rustoleum or Krylon. It's made specifically for muralists and graffiti artists. Then we use different tips for different lines and fills, high pressure or low pressure, and various spray patterns.
Santana: There's a mural I did in Kingman that's at least 11 years old. And the Arizona sun beats on the wall pretty heavily. It's faded, but it's still there. Putting a clear coat on top helps it last. Murals aren't forever. They represent a time and place.
From following you on social media, I saw that you are also a barber, but you just retired to do art full time. Can you tell me about that?
Santana: Yes. The other weekend was my last official day of cutting hair. On that day, we did a free back-to-school haircut event through Hope City Church, a local church that I go to. We have done it for five years, and that's how I went out on my last official day, giving back to the community. I'm very community-oriented, and I like to give back to the people. In my barbering career, my clients have helped pay for my life — they pay for my bills, my food, everything for my family. So I think the least I can do is give back however I know how to.
Coyote: He actually owns two barbershops in Kingman.
Santana: I don't really care to be boxed in with one identity. People are like, 'oh, you're a barber,' or 'oh, you're a rapper,' or 'oh, you're a muralist.' I just see myself as an artist all around. Any medium. I don't like to do things mediocre. Anything I do creatively, I give 110%. I like to set the bar high for myself. I have high standards for myself. So everything I do is just like, I'm gonna go all out and make sure that it's top tier. I like to outdo myself.
Coyote: He's got it tattooed on himself: "never satisfied."
A lot of people have stopped to watch you two paint. What advice would you give to a young person that feels inspired to get into this medium?
Coyote: We were showing a kid yesterday. The parents passed by, and they're like, 'Our nine-year-old is obsessed with graffiti.’ So we let him paint a little bit, and that was his first time, and his mind was blown. He said we made his day.
Matteo and his family were visiting Westport- Santana gave him a chance to paint and sent him home with a few cans to practice with. His mom says he’s been painting every day since, and it has been the highlight of his summer!
Santana: What kind of advice I would give is, don't stop. If you're creative, you like to draw, you like to sculpt, you like to take photos, whatever medium as far as art, don't stop. And don't settle, 'cause yeah, you may have to work a job that you don't like or whatever, but if you love to do something, do it. Do it on the side. Get a little side hustle going. Do it for you because you love it.
A lot of the things I have done in my life have become things that I've been able to make money off of. I started learning to tattoo just 'cause I wanted to learn, and I started making money off of it. Same thing with hair. I just needed a haircut for myself, and I started YouTubing how to cut hair, and then I started cutting my friends and my family, and then it just started growing. So it's like all the things I started doing weren't like, 'oh, I wanna do this because I wanna make a lot of money.' It was just that I was curious, and I wanted to learn and get better. And painting graffiti was the same thing. I never thought that I would have a career or be able to make money off of it, but here we are. So for the younger people, I would just say don't chase something for the money. Do it because you love it.
What has the response been so far to the murals?
Santana: I really appreciate the people here and the feedback I've gotten. I'm excited, motivated, and inspired, 'cause I paint cactuses all day and sunsets, and it is beautiful imagery, but getting to step away, get out of my comfort zone, and create things I haven't been able to make is just inspiring. And it just sharpens my skill even more. So I'm appreciative of the opportunity to come here, meet the people, and create something for them. To get positive reactions from the locals and even tourists passing by, to be a part of all that, it's all bigger than me.
Coyote: This art is culture. So we're giving culture to the community. We want people to stop, take photos, and feel the art, the color, and energy of the murals and how they reflect the region and community.
To view more of Santana’s art and murals, check out his Instagram. Or watch him and Coyote paint in person August 19-23rd.