California Boat Owner Ordered by City to Fence-In His Boat—So He Trolls Them With Hilarious Mural

A Seaport, California, boat owner had his boat painted on his fence after municipal officials forced him to enclose his boat according to code. Illustration by The Epoch Times, Courtesy of @hanifwondir

A boat owner in Seaside, California, has deployed art in an uproarious and novel way to protest a city ordinance dictating to him how he must park his boat on his property.

Illusionistically painted on the new white fence he was forced to build on the driveway he had to have paved is the visage of his proud vessel’s prow and trailer—literally inches away from the actual ones parked behind, now fenced off from view from the street in front of his house.

Etienne Constable is the cheeky resident responsible for sticking it to the city for their “silly laws” with his First Amendment-inspired fence mural, though a local artist was hired to tackle the task of painting.

In July 2023, city officials had ordered Mr. Constable to build a proper driveway and a 6-foot-tall fence for the boat, which had until recently been stowed on a dirt patch in his yard, Fox News reported. The decree was on pain of paying a $100 fine for non-compliance, which Mr. Constable ended up not having to shell out.

“There’s some logic to the law about not having decrepit vehicles,” he told the outlet. “And I figured, ‘This is not unsightly.’ I don’t know why they would threaten me that way.”

Boat owner Etienne Constable hired Hanif Panni to paint a mural of his boat on his fence mandated by the city to enclose his boat. Courtesy of @hanifwondir

Municipal code states that “boats and large pickup campers, motor homes, recreation vehicles, utility trailers, and vacation trailers” may be parked “in a residential district only if screened on the side and front by a six-foot-high fence.”

Mr. Constable devised a novel way of protesting.

“I just figured there’s a First Amendment right of writing whatever statement I want, on whatever property I have,” he said, speaking of the artistic rebuttal he arranged. “So, yeah, just kind of standing up for myself.”

The mural of Etienne Constable's boat. Courtesy of @hanifwondir

Local artist Hanif Panni, Mr. Constable’s neighbor, was fully on board to use his talent and the power of painting to make a statement and speak truth to power. A painter of murals, digital designer, and DJ, Mr. Panni has a knack for visual drama and was able to render a life-sized, realistic portrait of the boat so that it can be seen freely by all—including officials—from the street.

Thanks to the artist’s talented brushwork, even with the fence in place, it appears to be either transparent or non-existent.

The optical illusion is so convincing that, at a glance, passersby probably wouldn’t even spot the subterfuge—with its faux driveway, sun-dappled rendered bushes, and foreshortened boat, all painted in perfect perspective.

Detail of Hanif Panni's boat mural. Courtesy of @hanifwondir

Detail of the optical illusion from a three-quarters angle. Courtesy of @hanifwondir

Mr. Panni's handiwork creates the convincing illusion of shining sunlight and deep shadows. Courtesy of @hanifwondir

It’s in compliance with code and protected by the Constitution.

Mr. Constable said he was “ready for whatever reaction might come” from officials, though he didn’t expect it to go viral—which it did, racking up views on Instagram. The two were “tickled” and didn’t expect the fame that followed, Mr. Constable said.

Despite being trolled by the boat owner and artist, the city responded amicably with good humor, not fining Mr. Constable the $100.

“I got a call from the acting city manager/police chief and he said, ‘Dude, you’re hilarious. I’d give you a high-five. I'd love to meet you someday. And, you know, if you need anything, let me know,’” Mr. Constable told Fox News, adding that “ninety-nine percent of everybody else in this community thought it was hilarious.”

The installation of the fence reportedly set him back several hundred dollars, plus he paid his neighbor for the mural.

As for the artist Mr. Panni is passionate about using art to open up discussions within the public square. “I’m a big proponent of public art in spaces,” he told KSBW. “It engages people in ways that reaching out and having conversations doesn’t sometimes.”

The painter, who has many murals up across the central coast, has been inundated with orders for similar work since his boat mural went viral.

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