Alley comes alive with art in downtown Escondido

Two new outdoor mural projects will soon add extra splashes of color to downtown Escondido streets.

One project, called Esco Alley Art, was unveiled Saturday in the alley between W. Grand Avenue, W. Second Avenue, S. Broadway and S. Maple Street. A joint effort of the Escondido Arts Association and the Downtown Business Association, the project will eventually include more than 30 murals, up to 8-feet-by-8-feet apiece, mounted on a brick wall that runs the length of the alley.

The first phase included 12 murals, and additional works will be added to the mural collection over the coming months. The unveiling of each batch of murals is timed to coincide with 2^nd Saturday, an arts event held monthly downtown.

The Escondido Library is also flexing its public art muscles. Soon, artist Julia Anthony will begin painting a mural on the west exterior wall of the library building at 239 S. Kalmia St. The work was commissioned by the Escondido Public Library Foundation and funded through donations.

In recent weeks, the library conducted a survey, allowing the public to weigh in on two concepts for the mural, as well as make comments. Information from the survey will be used to create the final design for the mural.

Carol Rogers, who owns a downtown glass-blowing studio with her husband, is a member of the committee that has been working since March to organize the Esco Alley Art project. Heather Moe, another downtown business owner, “really lit the fuse to start this mural project,” Rogers said.

“It’s about bringing art out into the streets for everyone to enjoy. We know there’s a portion of the population that might never walk into a gallery or museum,” Rogers said.

The murals will be exhibited on a 350-foot-long brick wall, part of a building owned by John Paul the Great Catholic University, which has arts and business programs. The university allowed the murals to be displayed on its wall if the organizing groups covered any liability issues, Rogers said.

Artists had complete freedom to determine their subjects, as long as the resulting artwork is “family friendly,” Rogers said. Among the works included in the first phase are an homage to car culture, a portrait of a Native American woman, a Oaxacan-themed painting and an octopus, Rogers said.

“It’s fabulous, the diversity of the paintings is amazing,” she said.

Artists have a choice of creating their work on a one or two 4-foot-by-8 plywood panels, which will then slide into frames mounted on the wall, Rogers said. The university also will have the opportunity to display student work on the wall.

The building where the murals will be installed has its own historic value, housing at various times a poultry business, a hospital, a Sears department store, a furniture store, and now the university.

The alley art project offers artists a rare chance to paint whatever they want, because muralists are often commissioned to paint on a specific topic or theme, said Tristan Pittard, who owns a graphic design business and also sits on the mural committee. The project also provides a significant benefit to the community, he said.

“I think public art is a vital component of a healthy, vibrant society,” Pittard said.

Pittard, who is also a painter, contributed a mural to the first phase of the project, an abstract lily in vibrant colors.

The next two phases of the project will be unveiled in August and October. Pittard said the committee envisions leaving them up for several months for the public to enjoy, then possibly selling them and splitting the proceeds between the artists and the committee, which will help cover costs for continuing the mural project next year.

Pittard said a sealant will be applied to the paintings to protect them from the elements, and the committee also must look into treatments that would allow graffiti to be cleaned off without damaging the paintings.

“My hope is graffiti artists wouldn’t want to spray paint over obvious works of art,” he said.

Just down the street from the alley mural project, another mural project is gearing up at the Escondido library.

Concepts prepared so far depict such elements as Escondido’s historic first library building (which is now in Grape Day Park), an agricultural scene, and young readers. The “canvas” will be the west exterior wall, which is 40 feet tall by 75 feet wide, said Jack Anderson, chairman of the Escondido Library Foundation board.

“We’re expecting this mural will draw attention to the library,” said Anderson, and hopefully entice more people to come inside and see what the library has to offer.

More than 700 people responded to an online survey soliciting opinions about two alternate mural scenarios and comments about the proposals.

The foundation commissioned the mural at a cost of $42,000, which came from donations, Anderson said.

Artist Julia Anthony will begin painting the mural in June and the work is expected to take about three months, Anderson said.