Lompoc is adding a new mural to its collection, and the public has an opportunity to participate in its creation.
Mural in a Weekend, which takes place Oct. 6 through 7 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., will offer the community a chance to pick up a brush and put their own strokes into the latest public art piece. The mural, more than 100 feet wide, will be placed at the south and east walls of 100 S. H St., Lompoc. The last Mural in a Weekend, in 2016, saw more than 100 participants over a two-day span. This year’s event is organized by the Lompoc Mural Society and ExploreLompoc.
The artist behind the new mural is Art Mortimer, the same artist who created Lompoc’s first commissioned mural, a tribute to Lompoc’s flower industry.
Mortimer is a Southern California born and bred artist who made his first public mural in 1971, on the home he lived at in Santa Monica. He has worked on more than 100 murals throughout his lifetime and is regarded to be one of the innovators of the mural movement in Los Angeles. But he has a particular soft spot in his heart for Lompoc and the city’s ever-growing commitment to public mural art.
In 1989, Mortimer began work on what would be Lompoc’s very first public mural. At the time, he said the city and the Mural Society had a goal to revive Lompoc’s old downtown area, in hopes of bringing in new businesses and attracting more visitors.
“I really like Lompoc,” he said. “I’ve done murals in other towns where they have similar goals of revitalization. But the people in Lompoc who have organized this and continue to do it have the vision and a special energy behind the mural project.”
As an artist, Mortimer said Lompoc offers a uniquely cooperative environment to create and share ideas. The mural project organizers come up with a theme, and Mortimer generates a mural sketch from that. This year’s theme was “Chautauqua,” a nod to a popular movement in the early 20th century that brought arts, culture, and education to rural communities including Lompoc.
The theme was a little trickier for Mortimer than some in the past.
“My first thought was, ‘How do you depict that?'” he said. “A lot of murals are based on historical record and use photos. This was so long ago, there just aren’t going to be photos to tell that story. And a mural needs to tell the story just by looking at it.”
He began researching Chautauqua, looking for something that would trigger his imagination. Mortimer said the real story is the experience of the people who attended the event and the excitement of seeing a traveling show come to your small town.
Vicki Andersen, project administrator for the Lompoc Mural Society, said the idea for the theme came from a trip to the Lompoc Valley Historical Society.
“Chautauqua originated around the turn of the century, out of upstate New York,” Andersen said. “It was an arts and cultural event which traveled the county, setting up in tents. They brought music, entertainment, and speakers with them. Sometimes they even used to have parades.”
Andersen said the idea was to create a mural that focused on a part of Lompoc’s history that people may not be as aware of. She said the arts and culture aspect of Chautauqua also seemed timely, because the city is hosting three arts-related events in the month of October, prompting some officials to nickname the month “Artober.”
“First we have Mural In a Weekend,” she said. “Then the Lompoc Theater Project will host the Chalk Festival from Oct. 12 through Oct. 14. And the third week is Art Hunt, presented by the Lompoc Valley Art Association.”
It all kicks off with the painting of the mural based off Mortimer’s sketch. The sketch is sectioned off and gridded out first in pencil onto the wall, then traced with black paint, almost resembling a pen and ink drawing.
The grid also allows people to participate in painting alongside Mortimer. He said while he does look for some people who have artistic experience, none is required to join in. Participants will get a section of the gridded out mural assigned to them and use a pre-mixed paint to fill in the colors.
There are even tasks for those not wishing to join in the painting; interested parties can sign up online beforehand but it is not required to do so. The project gives people a unique chance to be a part of Lompoc’s storied mural history, Andersen explained.
“You get to come out and get some hands-on experience,” she said. “And you get to be part of this very special project.”
For Mortimer, it’s a return to a community he has come to establish a symbiotic relationship with as an artist.
“People here respect my work, and I respect what they want,” Mortimer said. “And we work well together.”
Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose’s life is a constant circus in a tent. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 4-11, 2018.