Nicole Merizalde spray paints murals across Atlanta

Nicole Merizalde is an Atlanta muralist who adds a modern twist to her classically-inspired work. Merizalde spray paints sculptures and portraits realistically, then mixes graphic elements into a fusion that she says “feels very dreamy and surrealistic.”

Merizalde was raised in a mixed-heritage home, with a Greek American mom and a Colombian dad who deeply inspire the work that she spray paints across the city. Although she started creating murals by painting, a pandemic-era meeting with a graffiti artist led her from painting into the world of murals, which she says allowed her tell her story and “create artwork in a really freeing way” in the public sphere.

Her work can be seen all over Atlanta and on her Instagram, instagram.com/zaldepaints/