From roughly 11 a.m. until sundown Suzanne Gayle is at Hayward High School on East Avenue to paint a mural representing the school’s transition throughout history.

A diagonal line down the center of the mural, which splits it in two, separating the previous Hayward Union High School built on Foothill Boulevard in 1862, from a drawing of the school when it was established in 1962 at its current location. The mural is still in its beginning stages and is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

Hayward High Past and Present is one of several murals Gayle has painted throughout the Hayward community as part of its Hayward Mural Art Program.

The program was implemented in 2009 with the intent to replace various graffiti-covered parts of the city with painted murals, as well as to utilize and showcase local Hayward artists. Murals commissioned under this program are expected to reflect the best, most positive attributes of the Hayward community, said the city of Hayward website.

“The murals give pride in our community and deters graffiti, and that’s a big thing,” said Gayle. “People see that the city is trying to make it look better, therefore they keep paying attention to what’s happening in the community and try to encourage a clean environment for its residents. The city is taking the first step and the others follow through basically.”

Gayle has also painted an aquatic themed piece located at the Hayward Aquarium on the intersection of Huntwood and Tennyson and the Latin Heritage Mural located at the intersection of Berry Avenue and Mission .

Visible from the southbound direction, the Latin Heritage Mural represents a loose timeline using multiple circles as windows to give the viewer a glimpse of Inca Maya and Aztec Cultures, Gayle said.

The mural includes references to Mayan Temples, volcanoes, ancient heroes, Quetzalcoatal, Andean Weavers, Peruvian Nazca Lines, Frieda Kahlo, Pancho Villa, Dia de las Muertas and much more. However, the mural is scheduled to be painted over soon because the building tenant does not agree with the painting’s theme.

Gayle, who grew up in a family of artists, and in spite of this, she attended Memphis University and graduated with a business degree.

“I’ve used business stuff over time for starting my business and putting it together, but I did not like it,” Gayle laughed. “Basically after I graduated from college I threw all my business books in the dumpster and started working at an interior design firm.”

She said she was always interested in painting, but it wasn’t until after she was pregnant with her first child that she started painting murals for schools and soon after was contacted by the city to paint murals at various locations.

“I realized I really liked doing big things better than the small,” she said. “I really enjoy it because I like getting my whole body into it while where the small things I have to be more tense and precise.”

After her completion of the Hayward High Past and Present, Gayle will be working on a mural at the Park Elementary School that incorporates themes such as ‘working in unity’ and ‘the sky is the limit.’