Urban Canvas
Michael Erickson
Glow Ride - Bicycle Corridor Traffic Boxes
Dates painted: June-October 2022
Presented in partnership with City of Eugene Traffic Operations Team, with funding by Susan and John Minor
Location: 13th Ave bicycle corridor between Charnelton and Alder
About the art: These paintings were made with the thought of promoting bicycle safety. The images are bright and colorful in a way that shows the importance of being seen while commuting on a bike. The characters shown are wearing bubble-like helmets that help keep their heads safe. I wanted to show exciting scenarios that a rider might come upon in a daily bicycle commute.
About the artist: Michael Erickson has been living in Eugene since 2006. Realizing his love of line and color led him on a self-initiated journey through the realms of graphic artistry. He has worked on a broad spectrum of projects and mediums including apparel design, screen printing, sign painting, video production, stop-motion animation, studio painting and a mural project with the City of Eugene’s Urban Canvas program. Of these, he enjoys mural painting the most. Erickson has completed multiple commissioned mural projects in Lane County. From interior floor level walls to 20-foot-tall exterior walls, his previous creative experience has given him a level of professionalism that he is proud to maintain and share with the community today. behance.net/m_erickson_design
Valentina Gonzalez (VRGNZ)
Celestial Migration
Dates displayed: July 1, 2022-July 19, 2023
Presented in partnership with Windowfront Exhibitions
Location: 120 W. Broadway
About the art: In my work I often play with concepts of social constructs. This piece is about the illusion of borders and separateness. This Summer, Eugene will be host to the World Athletic Championships. Around 2,000 athletes representing more than 200 countries will travel to Eugene to compete. Recognizing the juxtaposition between an event that welcomes the world and the current global displacement and migration crisis, I was inspired to paint a creation story using the archetypes of the Jaguar and the Coyote. The Jaguar is the protector and visionary embodying masculine and feminine desire. The Coyote brings the cunningness and creativity of the wise fool. These combined energies ignite to form the first stages of a new world. This piece demonstrates our innate capacity to use differences as creative fuel instead of destructive force.
About the artist: Valentina Gonzalez (VRGNZ) is interested in creating, exhibiting and promoting artwork that challenges social norms, builds community through art and activism and empowers others to share their stories through their own creative lens. Valentina is focused on non-profit art education, mural painting and community outreach.
“I began painting on walls throughout the Southwest and Texas in 1997. Over the years, I've worked with many art organizations, businesses and clients providing graphic design, art direction and murals. My experience includes a staff position as a Program Coordinator at Warehouse 21 Teen Art Center, a substitute Photoshop instructor at the Santa Fe Community College and a founder of the Whiteaker Community Art Team. My experience as an artist began with painting on walls and turned into an insatiable curiosity for creating art with all the tools available to me, from digital to analog, and my process continues to evolve. In the fall of 2017, I was honored to be included in the Santa Fe Indian Market with the Broken Boxes Exhibit at Form and Concept Gallery.”
Lisa Yu
Make Way
Dates displayed: March 5, 2021 - July 29, 2023
Presented in partnership with Windowfront Exhibitions
Location: 858 W. Park
About the art: "Until recently I lived near the Willamette River and enjoyed walking and biking along the paths. This image was inspired by the river in my backyard, and a picture I took of a mallard family where I noticed the ducklings' feet under the water were adorable. I named the mural Make Way, thinking of Spring, younger generations, change, and also the children's book Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. He illustrated his own books, and he is one of my favorite visual artists. Alternate title: Waters of March - Águas de Março, a Brazilian song by Antonio Carlos Jobim."
About the artist: Lisa Yu is a painter and assemblage artist originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She likes to use re-purposed materials. Her art celebrates ordinary life, through subject matter, means of exhibition, and media. She thrives on collaboration and works to support social and environmental justice. Since moving to Eugene in 2009 from Chicago, she has taken part in public art projects utilizing various mediums: Upstream Art Springfield, the Umbrella Project, Eugene Storefront Art Project, RainPlay, BRIDGE Exhibitions: Reflections Space River Road/ Santa Clara, murals also facilitated by the City of Eugene, and a mural with children attending camps at Emerald Park. lisayuart.wordpress.com
Pattrick Price
A Sunset Together
Dates displayed: July 1, 2022-May 15, 2023
Presented in partnership with Windowfront Exhibitions
Location: 1059 Willamette Street
About the art: This mural was created using traditional formline designs and ancient petroglyph styles. The sunset background and ridgeline of trees provide a comforting embrace that encourages people to be together and welcomes travelers to the community.
About the artist: Pattrick Price is an Alaskan born artist following multiple generations of Tlingit totemic style artists. In combination with the oldest styles of art from North America, Pattrick’s form line mixed with modern graffiti backgrounds creates murals that are unique to the Pacific Northwest. Pattrick is the current resident artist for the Ritz sauna in the Oregon Country Fair, with work on two beams that are a total of 35’, a 4’×5’ door, a 6’×8’ interactive art piece, and a 6’×18’ proscenium arch over the stage. He has also completed murals at Peterson Barn and Tracktown Studios in Eugene as well as live paintings for Artistic Encounters, Wow Hall and Sessions Lounge. Pattrick is currently in the process of making a line of printed hats for a local hat company in Eugene. instagram.com/pattrickprice
Alejandro Sarmiento
SNOW BIRDS
Dates displayed: October 8, 2021 - July 19, 2023
Presented in partnership with Windowfront Exhibitions
Location: 1038 Willamette Street
About the artist: My art is always changing, always evolving. I believe that repetition is the mother of perfection so I aim to create as much as I can whenever and wherever I am. I love creating representational art, and currently, I am really enjoying mixing references from real life with images with my imagination. To me, the melange of real with imagined feels like adding my own flavor or lens to life.
Alejandro Sarmiento is an artist who specializes in acrylic painting and drawing. He began his artistic journey at a young age, drawing on any surface he could find and filling his school notebooks with doodles. Mostly self-taught, Alejandro further developed his skills with a few years of formal art training at Lane Community College in his mid-twenties. Today he continues to learn and evolve his craft through daily practice, interacting with other mediums and artists, and independent research of techniques and best practices. Alejandro has created artwork for local and city projects, in both the private and public sectors, including large-scale murals, custom portraits, logos, and collaborative pieces. After eight years of working as a paid professional artist, Alejandro opened his own art business in 2020 where he continues to create commissioned work and teaches art classes for both novice and experienced painters. Artwithalejandro.com
Janene Block
Spring Fling
Dates displayed: March 5, 2021 - Fall 2022
Presented in partnership with Windowfront Exhibitions
Locations: 41 W. Broadway
About the art: The intention for Spring Fling was to inspire excitement for life and new beginnings. The flowers spread joy with their new growth and fresh colors. The red cardinal reappears in mid-flight, with a bold and confident flashing of his wings. Celebration and renewal are at the heart of this Spring mural.
About the artist: Janene Block, a Eugene local for 35 years, is a professional illustrator and painter whose work inspires a feeling of belonging and connection. She primarily works as a portrait artist, with a heart for creating memorials, but also enjoys painting landscapes and murals. She has designed and painted various mural projects for clients and public programs, including the City of Eugene, Upstart Crow Youth Theatre, and El Camino del Rio Elementary School. In the past, she has taught art to all ages and abilities, with an emphasis on adaptive environments and student inclusion. janeneblock.com, facebook.com/janeneblockstudios and instagram.com/janeneblockstudios
Eleanor Soleil
Humility Of Narcissus IV
Dates displayed: March 5, 2021 - August 7, 2022
Presented in partnership with Windowfront Exhibitions
Location: 133 W. Broadway (Pipeworks Studios)
About the art: “Humility of Narcissus IV is the fourth iteration of the Narcissus design in my own artistic mythology. It amends the ancient Greek myth of the same name, about a young hunter who is very talented and beautiful and lets it goes to his head, and eventually falls in the water of a reflecting pool and drowns because of his self-obsession. In my amendment, the act of falling into the water comes as a shock to him, and he saves his own life by realizing his behavior and seeing himself for the first time from the outside. He is transformed and reborn. At times in my life when I needed to transform, I would paint or repaint this design, and to do so I would have to act it out, which would create a residual art piece. This mural is dedicated to a friend of mine who was present at the inception of this idea. This is also the first mural I can call my own and I really treasure it, having had the pleasure of putting it up in a very nostalgic part of town.”
About the artist: Eleanor Soleil is an emerging transgender artist in Eugene, OR. Her work is intuitive, emotional, and mystical. Through a variety of self-taught painting techniques, she creates transcendent imagery and visions of liberation. Her process is very dynamic; she is always changing her methods and transforming as an artist. Her technique can be described as meticulous and detailed but not static, there is always movement, flux, and depth. Most of her work uses very bright colors and engages the viewer in a sensual way. Her paintings are deeply felt and admired, they can command and immerse and inspire. Wherever they are visible, they draw in viewers, inviting them to another world.
David Placencia
Winter Owl/Spring Owl
Dates displayed: December 14, 2020 - June 27, 2022
Presented in partnership with Windowfront Exhibitions
Location: 1045 Willamette Street
About the artist: Born in Southern California, David CP Placencia moved permanently to Eugene, Oregon in 2008 to focus on his art practice. 2012 marked his first solo exhibition at a local art gallery and he continues to show artworks, public art and provides art instruction in Eugene religiously since graduating from the University of Oregon in 2013. Teaching and being active in community projects became a large part of his practice. In 2019 he founded WheelHaus Arts, a K-12 art studio/gallery and in 2020 they created a large 40 foot mural at Charnel Mulligan Park. khaostasis.com/