Photo Credit: @tombobnycTom Bob, sees the world differently. Bob takes overlooked architecture and street fixtures—like pipes, poles, metal grates, and gas meters—and turns them into cartoonish creations that are meant to delight the masses. Where some people see a tube connected to a cement wall, Tom Bob envisions a jazz musician playing the saxophone.
Photo Credit: @tombobnyc
He looks at a light fixture and sees an adorable firefly. In an ordinary fire hydrant, he views a Boy Scout; a septic tank is a tigress. Tom Bob’s ability to turn the mundane into something highly Instagramable has made him one of the international graffiti scene’s most sought-after artists.
Photo Credit: @tombobnyc
His whimsical creations caught the eye of local restauranteurs Parke Ulrich and MeeSun Boice. Ulrich is the chef and owner of popular Embarcadero restaurants Waterbar and Epic Steak, and earlier this year he and Boice opened a new all-day eatery on Treasure Island, Mersea. At Mersea, the duo serves delicious comfort food and classic nostalgia items like fish and chips, chowder, and loaded baked potatoes. The space is industrial chic—it’s a series of specially designed shipping containers—and the ideal blank canvas for an artist like Tom Bob.
Photo Credit: Sarah Chorey
Through a series of Instagram conversations, Boice was able to convince the artist to visit the restaurant and work his spray paint and stencil magic. Yesterday, three works by Tom Bob made their official debut at Mersea. Inspired by the gorgeous views of Alcatraz Island, the artist transformed two pipes into the legs of a jailbird swimming from the rock. Another pipe was turned into a preying mantis and a sump pump into a golfer.
Photo Credit: @mersea
A fourth piece—a smiling canon—also appeared on a nearby street on Treasure Island. From San Francisco, Tom Bob was heading to Sacramento to install a few more of his colorful works. Although the humble artist has turned down the chance to appear on ABC and Jimmy Kimmel, he told Haute Living that a book is in the works. Fans of his art can look for it next time and in the meantime visit Mersea to snap a photo with one of his clever and cute creations.
