Pajaro Middle School adorned with a new mural.

A panther has been sighted in Pajaro—a nearly 12-foot, spray-painted kind.

Watsonville artist Erika Rosendale recently completed a mural on the Pajaro Middle School campus, representing a panther—the school’s mascot—leaping out of an agricultural field, with the rolling hills of the Pajaro Valley in the background and a train rumbling through in the distance. The mural is framed by images of oak leaves and apples, representing the heritage of the valley.

The mural was made possible through a grant by the Freedom Rotary Club, spearheaded by the club’s former president Martha Denny.

From the end of 2025 into the new year, Rosendale stationed herself on campus, spray painting the mural on the side of the school’s multipurpose building. Being middle schoolers, the students kept mostly to themselves when they walked by her working. But occasionally, Rosendale says she heard a student say “Wow” when they saw her work, which is high praise from a teenager.

“It brings so much joy to the students,” Principal Nicolé Killian says. “Erika went above and beyond for us.”

Rosendale, who credits her love of comic books growing up as her inspiration to become an artist, has not only painted murals in her hometown, but also across the world, including Germany, Finland, Colombia and more.

She recently completed an acrylic mural inside Redwood Pilates in Marina, representing a coastal scene at sunset.