New design, equipment for Covington skate park

The artwork of Aaron Kekoa Lui-Kwan, who was born and raised in Kent, will soon be on display at the Covington skate park adjacent to Mattson Middle School.

The artwork of Aaron Kekoa Lui-Kwan, who was born and raised in Kent, will soon be on display at the Covington skate park adjacent to Mattson Middle School.

Starting on Aug. 15 Lui-Kwan will begin painting his mural. It is estimated that the mural will take one to two weeks to complete.

In addition to his mural, the skate park is also receiving new equipment.

Angie Feser, parks planner for the city of Covington, said the new equipment should be arriving this week for installation.

Feser said the old equipment was previously purchased for re-use by the city of Blaine.

In the meantime, while the new equipment is installed and the mural is painted Feser said the skate park is closed to the public.

She added “this project is made possible through a community partnership with and donation from MultiCare Hospital.”

And also with the help of a $30,000 grant from the King County Youth Athletic Facilities program.

With the help of Mattson, Kentwood High School students and skate park users the city was able to design the new park.

Lui-Kwan graduated from the University of Hawaii in 2007 with a bachelor’s in art.

In his biography, Lui-Kwan said his contemporary style is “influenced by my love of nature and my use of vivid color (that) inspires emotion with each brush stroke.”

He added some of his freelance works includes designing for T&C Surf, a manufacturer of surfboards.

He is also a licensed tattoo artist and now uses the human body as a canvas for his art.