Top murals to check out in San Luis Obispo
The SLO Art Museum is welcoming another mural to Downtown. Southern artist, Erin LeAnn Mitchell will be visiting the San Luis Obispo area this month to paint a new mural on the side of the museum building.
Mitchell will begin painting on Feb. 3 and will reveal the mural on Feb. 23. The mural “Califia was Here,” will replace the old mural “Pacific Caribbean” by Juan Alberto Negroni. The mural will include imagery and figures of Black History in California and the fictional queen of California, Queen Califia.
All around the San Luis Obispo area there are large murals painted by local artists. These art installments exemplify the rich culture and arts present on the Central Coast through the unique and hard-to-miss medium of murals.
Seven Sisters Mural
Located on the back side of the Fremont Theater, this mural spans 80 feet across two different buildings. It towers over San Luis Obispo with radiant colors and locally significant motifs woven in, such as seven of the Central Coast’s mountain peaks.
The artist, Maria Molteni, researched the essence of San Luis Obispo before beginning the mural and made sure to incorporate unique aspects of the area combined with features from mythology.
The Seven Sisters mural can be viewed on Higuera Street. To check out more of Molteni’s artwork, visit @strega_maria on Instagram.
The Archway of Happiness Mural
The mural located on the Marsh Street parking garage mural is hard to miss. The painted arch is at the entrance of the garage and displays large flowers in pastel colors. “The Archway of Happiness” piece adds a pop of color to the block and is a great spot for a photo op.
The Pineapple Co. artists responsible for the mural looked to “use imagery that embodied the spirit of the community” according to the City of San Luis Obispo website.
Broad Street Mural
When exiting Downtown San Luis Obispo and entering the more residential areas on Broad Street, you might find the painted landscapes belonging to the Natural Healing Center mural.
Located on the side of its building, Marmalade Mural Co. used vibrant colors to illustrate popular features of the San Luis Obispo area, stretching from the beach to the hills.
This mural is just one of many murals done by Marmalade Mural Co. in San Luis Obispo county, including an electric box art piece on the corner of Broad and Higuera.
Marsh Street Bridge Mural
One of Marmalade Mural Company’s larger murals sits under the newly constructed Marsh Street bridge. Even though it is a little hard to see at first, once found, it depicts a collection of California wildflowers.
Ashley Oakes is a content writer for KCPR. Jackie Espitia is a photographer for Mustang Media Group.
