When longtime children’s art teacher Lynnae Lane moved to Orcutt from the Fresno area earlier this year, something caught her eye immediately.
It was at JJ’s Market, a display incorporating cactus and birdhouses along the side of the market, which she said was “an amazing, eclectic collage.”
“That just grabbed my attention,” Lane said. “I thought, ‘I would really love to meet the person who did this.'”
Later, at a live music event, she met Danny George, a longtime Orcutt resident, landscaper, and sometimes beautifier of public spaces in Orcutt.
George has spruced up a few areas in Orcutt over the years, he told the Sun, including an artsy truck at the Loading Dock and some of the planters around town. Another project was right across Gary Street from the Old Town Market, facing the road, where he did some basic landscaping and decorating.
“That was one of my little art, gardening projects that I do,” he said. “But it wasn’t of any remarkable note.”
The display caught Lane’s attention, she said, for the several window frames and shutters that George hung along the fence there.
The frames and other items are “upcycled,” George said, from his landscaping clients who ask him to haul stuff away. Until Lane came around, the frames were all whitewashed. They’re not anymore.
“First I said, ‘It would be fun to do a project with you sometime,’ because I love gardening as well,” she said. “But then the idea popped up to add a five-color palette to the white window frames.”
Inspired by an umbrella she saw, Lane wanted to bring the combination of colors together in the small yard-sized space. She got to work planning, even producing a rendering that plotted out how the colors would spread across the space.
For George, it was a breath of fresh air. He had never enjoyed collaboration for his beautification projects before, and Lane’s art background was an inspiration, he said.
“I usually just go out there and slap it all together,” he said. “I call them ‘art attacks.’ I just show up with some stuff and put them all together. It’s the first time I’ve done one with anybody.”
After they painted the window frames, they wanted more.
George upcycled an old wagon he found at the dump, filling it with planters of society garlic, and laying a flagstone down for the wagon to sit on. They also painted the several birdhouses assembled together, which they painted to create a colorful “birdhouse condominium” within the color scheme.
Lane teaches art in Orcutt schools, she said, and wanted to show students and locals alike how a simple art project can elevate a neighborhood.
“Hopefully it’s inspiring,” she said. “That is my job as an art teacher, is to inspire.
“I just recently moved here–I’ve been here eight months–and I’ve fallen in love with this community,” she added. “It’s such a sweet town, and it gave me the opportunity to do something special for the community I live in.”
For George, who’s been compelled to be creative for years, Lane’s perspective has definitely spurred him to engage and do more. He said he’s excited to start more projects with his newfound friend, who also likes to take part in some local “art attacks.”
“It’s the best one yet. It’s kind of the focal point of the street now,” he said. “I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’ve always wanted to live in a cool town, and I just thought, ‘Well, how do you make a cool town but try and do something yourself?'”
Managing Editor Joe Payne always appreciates a splash of color. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 22-29, 2018.
