Category: Murals

As part of the 2007 Biannual Public Art and Mural Symposium held in Manteca, we had an invitational mural competition. Eight North American artists were asked to paint 5ft X 8ft murals that depicted the bounty of the Central Valley. These eight murals are now hanging in the Manteca Senior Center at 295 Cherry Lane. “History of Agriculture in Manteca” by Guillermo Kelly shows historical and agricultural elements of Manteca intertwining in an Escher-like style. Joshua Cowell, our founder is shown in the middle and is surrounded by a Benjamin Holt tractor, a windmill, Moffat feed lots, fields being planted by hand and the city of Manteca as it began to grow.

As part of the 2007 Biannual Public Art and Mural Symposium held in Manteca, we had an invitational mural competition. Eight North American artists were asked to paint 5ft X 8ft murals that depicted the bounty of the Central Valley. These eight murals are now hanging in the Manteca Senior Center at 295 Cherry Lane. “Bounty in a Basket” is a bold design with the golden sun and crystalline water embracing the fields of our valley and culminating in a myriad of harvested delights. This mural was submitted by Brian Romagnoli from Ontario, Canada. Brian studied in Canada and Italy and has brought his skills to bear in many arenas, from mural art to historical preservation, from public speaking to writing. He was truly a charming person to work with and the public and press kept him so busy in discourse that he had a difficult time completing his mural!

As part of the 2007 Biannual Public Art and Mural Symposium held in Manteca, we had an invitational mural competition. Eight North American artists were asked to paint 5ft X 8ft murals that depicted the bounty of the Central Valley. These eight murals are now hanging in the Manteca Senior Center at 295 Cherry Lane. June Sands, a local artist from Ripon who designed the Seal for the County of San Joaquin at the age of thirteen, presented “Backyard Harvest.” The mural shows a farmer by an orchard with Mount Diablo in the background. Of all the entries in the competition, this one truly feels like our area of the Central Valley. Great job capturing our family farms!

“Local Motion” is our second children’s mural, also designed and coordinated by Terri Pasquini. She designed a striking mural to be painted by children at the annual Art in the Park event. The mural depicts children participating in sports activities typical to our area. It’s always great fun to watch the children work so diligently at painting between the lines. Their serious little faces as they make each stroke, and their enormous pride as they sign their names. This four foot by eight foot mural was dedicated on August 14, 2007 and was mounted in Library Park at 320 West Center next to the “Summer Vision” mural.

“Free-for-All” is our third mural-in-a-weekend project painted by volunteers. This mural is designed to show children at play, having fun at harvest time. Kiwanis International is noted for many things but especially their work with children. Since the local Kiwanis Clubs sponsored this mural we wanted to capture some of their special projects. They do a fishing derby, an Easter egg hunt, reading programs, built a playground, and of course, the local pumpkin fair. This was a 17’ by 50’ mural on the west wall of ABC Transmission facing South Maple Street.

“Summer Vision” was designed and coordinated by Terri Pasquini. She took on the challenge of working with children, from babes in arms on up! At the annual Art in the Park event, the little ones waited in line to take turns painting on Terri’s design. They each signed their name on the frame of the artwork. This 4 foot by eight foot work of art was dedicated on July 11, 2006 and was mounted in Library Park at 320 West Center.

“Cow-munity Mural” was our second mural-in-a-weekend project painted by volunteers. This was a very heartwarming project because so many of the volunteer artists had stories to tell about their lives on the dairies. This project really touched the people in our community, some of them even brought photos of their favorite cows to share with us! D.S. Gordon acted as designer and Master Muralist with the assistance of Pete Evaristo as co-muralist. We also had some terrific help from local artists; Guillermo Kelly, Terri Pasquini, and Jim Quinonez. This 13.5’ by 95’ mural (a huge work for volunteers to complete in only two days!) is painted on the west-facing wall of the old Mars Department Store at 230 W. Yosemite Avenue. It was dedicated October 2, 2005.

“Service Above Self” is a tribute to the 100th anniversary of Rotary International and their service in local communities as well as throughout the world. This 14’x40’ mural is located on the South wall of 158 N. Maple Avenue in the city parking lot across from the post office. The artist, Don Gray, created an extremely detailed mural filled with images of people helping people to commemorate this Centennial. We were able to combine this mural with a landscaping project by the city as well as seating and a fountain for Rotary Plaza.

“Sierra’s Crown” by Dan Petersen on the west wall of 226 East Yosemite Avenue is a 13’ x 17’ mural that shows Manteca as a crossroads to Yosemite Valley. It is a stunning view of Yosemite National Park showing Half Dome and the Merced River. It was dedicated in conjunction with Veterans Plaza, which included the creation of a xeriscape of rocks leading into the mural. Also, on the American Legion Building is a bronze plaque recognizing our founding donors.

“Pumpkin Harvest” was an exciting mural-in-a-weekend project painted by volunteer artists. D.S. Gordon acted as designer and Master Muralist with the assistance of Pete Evaristo as co-muralist. It is on the north wall of Angles Beauty Care at 145 N. Main Street. Thanks to the Perry family, Manteca is one of the largest pumpkin growing areas in the country and this mural showcases the annual pumpkin pitching to harvest these great pumpkins. This is a 14’ by 54’ community effort that highlights part of our agricultural heritage.