Muralist Cullen Winkler graduated from Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME) in 2009. Cullen's mixed media works won him the Richard Martel Memorial Prize at Bowdoin. Cullen was a friend of Luke’s younger brother, Bryan, from the Bowdoin lacrosse team, and when Luke saw Cullen’s work he realized it would be a perfect fit for New York’s first Maine-style lobster shack. Cullen is a prime example of the family and friends who stepped up to help Luke, Jeff, and Ben make this restaurant a reality. Here’s what Cullen has to say about his mural, which graces the restaurant’s wall:

“I synthesized a variety of mediums in the mural at Luke’s. The left side of the frame (the shingled lobster shack and the dock) consists largely of heavy constructions, which contrast the lightweight collage and thin washes of paint on the right. The dock was built from authentic Maine driftwood to acknowledge the state’s natural beauty. The earthy tones in the driftwood and weathered-shingle wall contrast the bright glossy sheen of the collaged beach and sky, in order to “pop” the animated characters in front of the landscape. I left the beachgoers faceless in an attempt to universalize this familiar, yet non-specific Maine coastal landscape--to inspire nostalgic sentiments that are “fuzzy” and not quite at the forefront of your memory, yet undoubtedly present.”