Though you may not know his name, you've undoubtedly seen the work of Glenn Case all around West Seattle, in the windows of Bakery Nouveau or the walls of Easy Street Records.

Somewhere in the neighborhood Case can often be found atop a ladder, head phones strapped to his ears as he casually wields his paint brush to create the eye-ctching murals that stop traffic and draw customers to local businesses.

In total, Case has worked for West 5, Coffee to a Tea with Sugar, Cupcake Royale, Seattle Fish Co., Liberty Bell Printing, Bakery Nouveua, Easy Street Records and the Feedback Lounge.

Local businesses that have commissioned his art describe Case as flexible, eager to work and constantly impressive with his artistic skills.

"Glenn is a lot of fun to work with," said William Leaman, chef at Bakery Nouveau. "He's always happy to help and very available."

"He is always around, always wants to be working," said Matt Vaughan, owner of Easy Street Records.

Though he hails from Raleigh, NC, the 36 year-old artist also called Washington D.C. and Germany home while his father was in the army. Later, his father became and architect and took their family to Mexico and the Phillipines while working for Habitat for Humanity.

After earning a bachelors of fine arts degree from the North Carolina School of Arts, Case moved to Seattle to work as an intern for the Seattle Repertory Theatre.

"I like the West Coast openness and how supportive they are of the arts," said Case.

Later, Case started working on murals. While he had enjoyed his work at the theatre, the artist said his mural work has been more rewarding, working outside and interacting with members of the community.

"Working out here I get to mix it up with a hole variety of folks," said Case.

He quickly became attracted to the vast exposure that his art received doing mural work. In fact a large majority of Case's clients have discovered the artist after noticing him painting on the street.

A major influence for Case came when he apprenticed under legendary Seattle muralist James Crespinel. Together they painted a large-scale orca whale mural on three different faces of a Downtown Seattle building. They also painted a 180 foot by 180 foot Seahawks mural next to the Kingdome.

Case's painting techniques have a very nostalgic quality, akin to sign painters from the 1970's and 1980's. Unlike many other young artists of his generation, Case never uses spray paints and creates most of his murals free hand. He enjoys the exposure of mural work, at the same time, he says it requires perfection because mistakes can be easy to spot.

"He is a bit of a throwback. Easy Street is by nature pretty old fashion and Glenn shares that imagery," said Vaughan.

Case said his goal is to paint like Michael Jordan plays basketball, fluid and flawless so that it looks easy.

"He's visually talented behind my comprehension," said Sofia Zadra, owner of Cafe Revo. "He's a very nice and a positive person and will do whatever you want done."

Today, the artist does a variety of work, painting small projects in bedrooms or large scale work like on the sides of buildings. He has painted cars, windows, awnings, floors and many other surfaces.

"West Seattle has been so good to me," said Case. "It is far and above the most supportive area I've worked."

Case has been painting murals at Easy Street Records in West Seattle and Queen Anne for five years. While he is often commissioned to replicate album covers, Vaughan said they always represent Case's artistic style with bright colors and a very high, professional quality.

On of the artist's most memorable moments working for the reord store occurred when Lou Reed asked to meet the artist after seeing a mural Case had painted of Reed on the back door fo Easy Street. Reed complimented Case's work and and said the artist reminded him of a young Andy Warhol.

Doing commercial work, some of Case's clients give him a very specific design while other projects offer more creative freedom.

"I love getting the chance to create something out of my imagination for the public," Case said.

But what the artist seems most enthusiastic about is the work he's done with disadvantaged youth in the community. Over the past few years Case has organized Earth Day projects with local kids, painting murals in Cowen Park, Cal Anderson Park and Ravenna.

"His work speaks for itself," said Vaughan. "That's his resume out for everyone to see."