The first mural Bella Anderson painted was located behind the Stardust Donuts building when she was a sophomore at Coronado High School in the Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA) program. The Imperial Beach resident wanted to create art locally, and after her first success, she became known for murals done in collaboration with Imperial Beach Arts. Her second mural is now the site of a Pokémon Go game in the driveway of a private home at Basswood Avenue and Delaware Street. Homeowner Lynne Fischer wanted an aquatic scene, and Anderson suggested the idea of a kraken, a large octopus-like creature based on Scandinavian folklore. Anderson asked whether she wanted a more serious or more playful scene. Fischer chose the more playful choice. The mural features an underwater scene with the kraken as the main character. Recently, Anderson was really surprised when she found out that the mural is a spot in the Global AR (augmented reality) geo location video game, Pokémon Go.

This online video game is played by about 90 to 115 million people and is the leading AR game globally. The game uses the phone’s GPS to find, catch, train, and fight Pokémon.

Fischer first found out about the mural’s role in the game thanks to her sons. “My boys had just returned from a trip to Japan and Southeast Asia, where they played some Pokémon (in downtime as they are plugged-in tech guys), and they just happened upon it when they were here having dinner last weekend — what a surprise,” she recalled. “They said, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s in our driveway.’»

Fischer told Anderson about the mural. “It makes me so happy. It’s a hidden gem,” she said.

Fischer said that often, families with young kids walking by stop when they see the mural to get a closer look. Fischer said everyone loves the mural. “Kids love it, people come up and take pictures — young families with kids and their dogs,” she said.

“It’s awesome to me that kids are growing up seeing this mural, and it’s associated with their childhood,” said Anderson. Growing up, she remembers seeing the painted utility boxes in Imperial Beach. Now, for some kids, it will be the kraken she painted in a couple of weekends with a crew of friends. “I can’t believe we were doing it that young,” said Anderson.

Looking at the mural now, as a senior at UC Irvine majoring in studio art, Anderson says she is proud of her younger self who painted the mural, “even if I’d do things differently now,” she said.

Fischer said the mural has held up well over the years since the 2019 – 2020 timeframe of its creation, and she chose the perfect colors. “When I moved here, I said I can’t look at a white wall…it was begging for color,” said Fischer, who is the current vice president of IB Arts. After the kraken mural, Anderson made more public art with another mural at Veterans Park about friendship, kindness, and caring for each other and the environment. The next one was of a low rider on the side of Mason’s Auto Clinic. “It was my first done using an airbrush, which was fun and new. The first three murals I painted with a paintbrush. I liked the airbrush [method], and it was part of the learning curve; it was something I wanted to incorporate into my personal work, something for me to explore,” she said.

Anderson also has a mural at Coronado High School on the second floor next to CoSA that features a beach scene with a message to keep our environment clean. Yet another mural of hers is at Silver Strand State Park, made in collaboration with other members of CoSA. Anderson graduated from CHS in 2022.

Anderson first got involved with public art when Artist Todd Stands and others were painting birds on the bike path. Anderson worked on the birds. “I was working on one of the birds, and they trusted me with it. I painted a great blue heron and a duck,” she recalled. Stands then recommended Anderson for Fischer’s mural. That led to another mural in the backyard of a private residence of a large-scale beach scene.

Anderson was always what she calls artistically occupied from a young age, doing everything from sewing and quilting to painting. “There’s nothing that can’t be turned into art in Bella’s mind… chairs, purses,” said Fischer.

Thanks to her college experience, Anderson has been able to explore many forms of art, and now that she is a senior, she is focusing on more interpersonal themes and considers herself a multi-dimensional artist. Currently, Anderson is experimenting with mixed media and other non-traditional materials. She has also focused on sculpting. While she decides what the future will hold for her, she will work and stay in Irvine before applying to a Master’s program. She has worked in a museum as an art educator, teaching kids the fundamentals of art. Anderson explained that UC Irvine is a concept school and focuses more on contemporary art. She sees that as a plus because that opportunity has opened up her eyes to other forms of art. Anderson does not exclude circumventing to public art again.

“The wall is like an archive, it captures a period of time and is subject to…weather, aging process, and how people interact with it…I can always come back and touch it up,” she said. “It makes me so happy, it’s a hidden gem.”

Fischer loves the mural. “I have an original Bella on my wall,” she said.

VOL. 116, NO. 2 – Jan. 14, 2026