Walnut Creek Rollercoaster

Ricky Watts, a Sebastopol-based painter, honed his craft as a young artist through immersion in the street art culture of Northern California. Best known for his abstract works consisting of organic shapes and gradient color palettes, Watts plays with fluid movement and the deconstruction of language in his intricate paintings. Though the artist began painting with interest in lettering, years of experimentation led him to remove the structure of the letters until they were reduced to flowing, abstracted bands of color. 

Image Caption: Ricky Watts, Walnut Creek Rollercoaster, 2020, paint on drywall, 9'1" x 17' 8".

Wolf

Cannon Dill is a Bay Area artist whose illustrative work features bold symbols and creatures with a rough-around-the-edges, painterly style. Dill's work often features animals accompanied by folkloric shapes and themes that showcase their power. His bold subject matter is complemented by a color palette that juxtaposes muted tones with evocative yellows and reds. For his Duncan Arcade mural, Dill painted a stylized wolf, energizing the alleyway.

Image Caption: Cannon Dill, Wolf, 2020, paint on drywall, 9'1" x 17'8".

Hands Free

Casey Gray is a painter, sculptor, and muralist based in San Francisco. His work is characterized by his exclusive use of aerosol paints and laborious hand-cut masking techniques that result in paintings so crisp they appear digitally made. In fact, Gray's fascination lies in the space between reality and virtual experience, a realm that is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate. In his ongoing series of arrangements, Gray uses historical painting tropes to construct fictional still lifes with seemingly random objects. In his Duncan Arcade mural, Gray features a graphic representation of life returning to the Duncan Arcade area as the City reopens following the shelter-in-place orders.

Image Caption: Casey Gray, Hands Free, 2020, paint on drywall, 9'1" x 17'8".

Cartoon Creek

Sirron Norris is an acclaimed illustrator, muralist, and arts educator based in San Francisco's Mission District. Norris is best known for painting loveable cartoons and their antics. His signature character is a friendly blue bear who proudly stands for a variety of social justice issues. In his Duncan Arcade mural, Norris showcases a Walnut Creek landscape bursting with action and references the City's most beloved public art installations. 

Image Caption: Sirron Norris, Cartoon Creek, 2020, paint on drywall, 9'1" x 18'4".

Floral Bounty

Velia De Iuliis is an LA and Bay Area painter whose rich gouache and oil paintings depict flora and fauna on the brink of extinction. Her lush still lifes, painted with exquisite detail and vivid color that pop against sharp backgrounds, are a beauty to behold. De Iuliis' work draws the viewer in, allowing them to refocus their attention on threatened species that may soon disappear forever. Thus, the artist considers her stunning paintings a call to action and a record of soon-to-be natural artifacts.

Image Caption: Velia De Iuliis, Floral Bounty, 2020, paint on drywall, 9' x 13' 9".

Mural Rotation

Murals will rotate periodically, every few years, to refresh the space and give new artists an opportunity to display their work and talents. 

Duncan Arcade is curated by Bedford Gallery and the Public Art Program. We look forward to many years of art in Duncan Arcade and multiple iterations of displays by a diverse and eclectic range of California artists.

Artists are chosen through an invitational process and reviewed by a selection panel before they are approved by the Walnut Creek Arts Commission.