Nigel Sussman Uses Art to Spread Joy and Happiness

Nigel Sussman Uses Art to Spread Joy and Happiness

PHOTO BY LANCE YAMAMOTO

Berkeley illustrator and muralist Nigel Sussman does accept commissions — as long as they are positive, universal, and appropriate.

Illustrator and muralist Nigel Sussman lives in Berkeley, but you’ve likely passed one of his large, whimsical works of art around the East Bay. His Leamington Planes Mural on the side of the Leamington Building at the corner of Franklin and 19th in downtown Oakland is just one example of his work.

Sussman grew up in rural western Maryland, close to the Pennsylvania border. He lived in a large farmhouse and was encouraged creatively at an early age, in particular by his father, a musician who ran a community music school. But both of his parents encouraged creativity in him and his two younger sisters, and a DIY mentality toward entertainment, play, and house projects prevailed and has stayed with him into adulthood.

“I remember protesting the lack of ‘packaged’ play like video games and television, but in retrospect, possessing the tools of creativity has been invaluable,” he said.

In 2003, he transferred from the fine arts program at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to finish a BFA in illustration from California College of the Arts. Sussman moved from Oakland to San Francisco three years later and then finally settled in Berkeley in 2014.