Walnut Creek Public Art

10/08/2020

Velia de Iuliis completed her mural titled "Floral Bounty" in last week and we are in complete awe.

Velia de Iuliis is a Bay Area painter whose paintings depict flora & fauna. Her lush still lifes, painted with exquisite detail and vivid color that pop against sharp backgrounds are a beauty to behold.

, located at 1341 North Main Street in the heart of downtown Walnut Creek, is a project of Walnut Creek Public Art Program and Bedford Gallery. This outdoor mural gallery will feature the work of 5 renowned Bay Area artists and will be rotated at regular intervals to bring in new artists.⁠ More artists to be announced soon.....stay tuned!

09/23/2020

Who put these adorable, hand-knit sweaters and masks on Bullman & Bulldog? 🤔 The Yarn Bombers of Walnut Creek of course!

Spot this treasured sculpture by Gerald Heffernon and more on the Public Art Scavenger Hunt! Now through February, search for art around downtown Walnut Creek and answer fun trivia questions. Participants will be entered for monthly prizes! This month prize is offered by Love and Chocolate Shop (on North Main / Cypress), who have donated a box of chocolate and a $10 gift card.

Check out the scavenger hunt:
tinyurl.com/publicartscavengerhunt

P.S. the Yarn Bombers of WC are an assembled crew of Bedford Gallery volunteers hoping to brighten people's day with temporary yarn installations throughout the downtown area 🌞Pictured is our fabulous docent Adrienne.

07/16/2020

Take a cue from Bullman & Bulldog and be sure to grab your mask before heading outside! 😷⁠
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PLUS looking for a safe, fun activity for the family? Head out on a self-guided public art walking tour of Walnut Creek! Maps are available at https://walkwc.oncell.com and each stop has a number to dial, so you can listen to an audio recorded message ☎️⁠
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Gerald Heffernon, Bullman with Bulldog, 2017, cast bronze & paint.

03/04/2020

You may have noticed some gorgeous murals poppin’ up around Walnut Creek lately…. These exquisitely painted walls are part of Walnut Creek Public Art’s new Mural Program.

This exciting new program was inaugurated by renowned Bay Area artist Kristin Farr, with her radiant mural on the Lesher Center for the Arts. The next mural in the series was created by the infamous art duo named MCXT (a collaboration between Monica Canilao and Xara Thustra) on Civic Park’s Assembly Hall.

We are so excited for all of the new murals to come…. Stay posted for more news soon! Which artist would you like to see paint the walls of Walnut Creek?
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Kristin Farr, West Coast Barn Quilt, 2018, acrylic paint on DiBond panels, 28 x 16 feet. Photography by Liz Payne. MCXT, We Well All Be, Nova Color Acrylic Mural Paint, 7 feet 6 inches high by 34 feet 10 inches wide, 2019. Courtesy of Kelly Wu.

02/28/2020

RAWR! 🦖 We are thrilled to present new, interactive public art sculptures in Downtown Walnut Creek by artist Joyce Hsu!

Hsu's play sculpture "RAWR" is located in Broadway Plaza, and includes an interactive T-Rex kids can climb inside and a Dinosaur bench with a periscope-like viewport in its neck.

They’re complemented by Hsu’s three oversized hummingbird sculptures ‘taking flight’ from nearby planters. We are overjoyed with the special spot Hsu created for families can relax while children play and let their imaginations run wild!

Enjoy RAWR on your next visit to Broadway Plaza! To check out more of the incredible public art in Walnut Creek, visit: https://www.bedfordgallery.org/public-art

Photography by Kelly Wu.

02/28/2020

MCXT, We Well All Be, Nova Color Acrylic Mural Paint, 7 feet 6 inches high by 34 feet 10 inches wide, 2019. Courtesy of Kelly Wu.

Monica Canilao and Xara Thustra, known together as MCXT, completed their commissioned mural entitled "We Well All Be" on Civic Park’s Assembly Hall during Fall 2019.

This mural is the second in Walnut Creek’s newly minted mural program. "We Well All Be"
was painted in the artists' signature style with brilliant colors and a rich mix of narrative and abstract shapes. To create the mural, the artists hand-mixed 90 custom colors over the course of two days. The resulting viewing experience is similar to looking into a kaleidoscope. The meticulously painted patterns create an optical wonderland for eyes to explore. The lovingly rendered details in the mural allow for an interactive and playful opportunity for viewers.

We hope you have the chance to stop by Civic Park in Downtown Walnut Creek soon to check out this gorgeous piece.

MCXT, We Well All Be, Nova Color Acrylic Mural Paint, 7 feet 6 inches high by 34 feet 10 inches wide, 2019. Courtesy of Kelly Wu.

02/28/2020

MCXT, We Well All Be, Nova Color Acrylic Mural Paint, 7 feet 6 inches high by 34 feet 10 inches wide, 2019. Courtesy of Kelly Wu.

02/28/2020

It is with great sadness that we announce that over this past weekend, Patrick Dougherty's innovative stick work sculpture titled "Sure Enough" reached the end of its life and was deconstructed. This temporary piece of public art was built entirely of woven willow saplings and was constructed with the help of over 60 volunteers from the greater Walnut Creek community.

Located just north of the Walnut Creek Library in downtown Civic Park, "Sure Enough" was a beautiful labyrinth that invited visitors to wander through and immerse themselves in its dynamic, natural environment. It was an immense joy to house this gorgeous public art piece in our park for two years, the expected life-span of a Dougherty piece.

This epic public art project was made possible by a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant secured for the Bedford Gallery and the City of Walnut Creek Public Art Department.

The volunteers who built "Sure Enough", ranged in age from 16 to 69 and most had never worked on a large-scale, collaborative project like this before.

For more information on "Sure Enough", and our Public Art Program, head to the link in bio or check out https://www.bedfordgallery.org/…/collecti…/patrick-dougherty

Photography by Liz Payne and Kim Harrington, 2018.