A lunch break, a short walk and discovery of a multitude of murals

The rains stopped for the day and clear skies filled the air. It was perfect weather for a walk. I passed by the CMAC studios in downtown Fresno, located off of Van Ness and Calaveras. Usually, I walk by CMAC to get to my car. I’ve done this walk hundreds of times. This time, I stopped and admired the large mural on the side of the five-story building, once the home of The Bee.

The mural is of a flock of birds coming together at the back of a man who has his head down, reading a book. There are so many ways a person can interpret this work. The birds were painted in different colors and to me, reflects the diversity of the community we live in, all coming together in one. The work also promotes literacy, which studies show are critical to the success of children and adults. It came be seen from several hundred feet away.

The mural was funded by The McClatchy Fresno Art Endowment and The California Arts Council. Its unveiling coincided with Arte Americas’ 30th anniversary.

I then walked around the corner and reacquainted myself with a much smaller mural of a heart. This mural isn't as large and out in the open. It too is located on the side of a building, next to a parking lot off of Calaveras Street. You can easily see it from the street if you are driving or walking by. This mural caught my attention a few months back as it was part of a local company’s scavenger hunt. The prize was located there. I got there too late and didn’t win.

After viewing these two murals, I decided to head back towards Van Ness and Stanislaus, where there was a mural of a tree with branches and flags. The story goes that the mural was sponsored by Granville homes after a competition and request for artwork. The artist is Steve Brosna and the artwork represents the United Nations. Flags of countries are off of tree branches with the Statute of Liberty in the middle. Again, to me, diversity is highlighted by the artwork in a creative way.

By this time, lunch was ending so I began to head back towards my office. There was one more, much larger mural on my route back to awaiting emails at my desk. The last mural I visited was the Fresno Postage Stamp located at 1315 Van Ness Ave. The stamp is beautifully done with various pictures of Fresno. Its main portions were completed by Francisco Vargas, with the help of several others. Each letter in the spelling of Fresno has images depicting Fresno County. A person can spend a lot of time simply staring at each image. Some of the images take us back in Fresno’s history.

In less than 40 minutes, I had walked past, and admired four murals. But, as beautiful as these murals are, there are many more to admire in our county. The nonprofit group Creative Fresno has created an interactive map of over 200 murals located in Fresno County. Each mural has a short description and its location is shown on the map. The organization’s mission is to create a quality sense of place by supporting the arts in every district of Fresno and the surrounding area. The map can be found at the following website http://www.creativefresno.com/.

Creative Fresno was formed in 2004 and has quietly created an asset that will be passed down to the next generation of Fresnans. Are you interested in seeing if there are any murals in your neighborhood or area of town? Check out the map and see. As for me, I’d like to one day take a tour of all the murals located in this beautiful city. That ambitious goal will take more than a lunch break.