Steelhead trout are now a major fixture in the skyline of downtown Santa Cruz. The life cycle of this iconic river species is the focus of a 55-foot-tall mural called “Watershed: A Living Cycle” installed in January 2026 at the RiverRow apartments on Front Street. The Coastal Watershed Council asked local artist Calene Luczo a few questions about creating this beautiful celebration of the San Lorenzo River’s flagship fish.
Who is the creative team behind this mural?
Artist Calene Luczo
This mural was created collaboratively by myself, Calene Luczo, and my professional colleague and friend, Jolene Russell. I have a background in marine science and hold a BA in Art from UC Santa Cruz, as well as a graduate certificate in Science Illustration from CSU Monterey Bay. For the past 13 years, I have worked as a professional marine science illustrator based here in Santa Cruz, creating vibrant, detailed paintings and illustrations of coastal flora and fauna. Through my artwork, I aim to offer the public a window into the natural history of coastal species and ecosystems, inspiring curiosity and conservation efforts.
Artist Jolene Russell
Jolene also earned her BA in Art from UC Santa Cruz and has worked as a full-time professional muralist for the past decade. Now based in Sacramento, she spent over ten years living in Santa Cruz and continues to hold a deep appreciation for its ecological richness. Her artistic practice is grounded in a respect for the natural world and a commitment to celebrating the diversity of the communities she works with.
What inspired you to create the mural’s design?
The San Lorenzo River was once known as one of the healthiest steelhead rivers in the country. Steelhead have long been an important part of life along this river, sustaining Native tribes, Spanish settlers, and later communities who lived along its banks. Today, they’re listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, a reality that really shaped my approach to this piece.
When I began designing this mural, “Watershed: A Living Cycle,” I wanted it to feel like both a tribute and a reminder. Steelhead have such an incredible life cycle, and their survival depends on the health of the entire San Lorenzo Watershed. They begin as eggs in the headwaters, hatch and slowly make their way downstream, and eventually head out to the ocean. After spending two to three years at sea, they return to the very river they came from to spawn. And unlike salmon, they don’t always die after spawning. They can make that journey more than once, which I find amazing!
In the mural, I chose to highlight five stages of their life cycle: the eggs, alevins (tiny fish still sustained by their yolk sacs), parr (juveniles learning to feed on their own), smolts (a brief but critical stage before entering the ocean), and the adult male spawner returning upstream. I also included a map of the San Lorenzo River watershed in the background because it felt important to show how connected every part of the river is to their story.
For me, this mural is about more than just depicting a species. It’s about honoring a relationship between a river, its ecosystem, and the communities that have depended on it for generations.
What was the process like for creating and installing such a large piece?
The process of creating this mural was a bit different from the traditional approach of painting directly onto a wall. In this case, the building hadn’t yet been constructed, so the mural had to be completed off-site. Using a technique called marouflage, we painted the artwork onto large panels of mural cloth, which were later installed with a strong adhesive once the wall was ready.
Each roll of mural cloth measured about five feet wide and stretched the full height of the mural – roughly 55 feet. There were six rolls of mural cloth used for this mural, three for each of the two sections. In my studio, I was able to construct a system with a large dowel and some supports that allowed these rolls of mural cloth to hang two at a time side by side. This allowed us to work on an approximately 10-ft-wide by 7-ft-high section at any given time.
This is the second of two murals completed for this project site. You can view it on the north wall of the northernmost building in the River Row complex along Front Street between Laurel St. and Soquel Ave. The other mural, “Echoes of a Wetland,” is on the south end of the southernmost building of the complex.
What do you hope viewers will feel or take away when they see the mural?
This new River Row development is historical in the sense that it is the first time that a building on Front St. actually faces toward the San Lorenzo River. It invites its residents and visitors to connect to the river in a way that hasn’t happened before in downtown development. I wanted the mural to exemplify that and encourage the viewer to also think about and feel connected to the river, and what better way than with a species so beloved to the community. Also, since steelhead rely on the entirety of the San Lorenzo watershed to complete their lifecycle, I hope it serves as a reminder that we need to think about protecting and respecting the whole system, not just a portion of it.
You can check out more of Calene (@luczoillustration) and Jolen’s (@joleneroserussell) artwork on Instagram.