A new mural is taking shape on the wall behind Lupe's Situ Tacos and Percy's & Co. on Ballard Avenue.

Muralist Andrew Miller is mid-painting on the north side of the Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel building, filling the concrete with hummingbirds, a fishing boat, mountains and a hidden nod to Ballard's most famous resident: Jimothy the raccoon.

Miller told My Ballard on Thursday, Aug. 27, that the wall had been on his radar for a while. The project came together after the building's owners contacted the Ballard Alliance looking for help commissioning a mural.

Wren Wilson of the Ballard Alliance said the owners wanted the artwork for two reasons: to cut down on tagging and to add more public art to the neighborhood.

Wilson tapped Miller for the job, saying his style matched the property owners' vision. Miller's work already dots Ballard at Mike's Chili Parlor, Sloop Tavern and Ballard Clay, with additional murals in Greenwood, Edmonds, West Seattle and Lake City.

The design centers on hummingbirds, which Miller said will be "scattered throughout the painting with an ode to our marinas and fishing community." The mural will also include a fishing boat, local wildlife and mountains.

Tucked somewhere in the scene will be a small depiction of Jimothy, the short-spined raccoon first spotted near the Ballard Goodwill on July 14 by Kiana Hall, whose video turned the animal into a citywide sensation.

Miller painted the original Jimothy mural at Ballard Clay Pottery School on NW Market Street in July. That piece helped land him this commission, and he called the new Jimothy appearance a follow-up and "a little Easter egg within the design."

City Council members Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Dan Strauss proclaimed "Jimothy Summer" at Bergen Place Park on July 26.

The Mariners held two Jimothy-themed nights at T-Mobile Park in August, handing out trading cards to the first 20,000 of the 40,743 fans who attended the Aug. 6 game. A rare 1-of-1 gold-trimmed card pulled by a 13-year-old fan hit eBay and reached $16,700 with over 95 bids as of Aug. 28, KOMO News reported. The auction was still open at that point.

In a July interview with KING 5, Miller reflected on the neighborhood's embrace of the raccoon: "I love the way that Ballard has really attached itself to it."

Miller expects to finish the Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel mural within a couple of weeks. A second Ballard Alliance mural project is also in the works on the west wall of the Hjarta apartment building at 1530 NW Market St., where the organization is still seeking an artist.