Celebrating California Arts Day by Submitting a Centennial Mural Design

The deadline for the Centennial Mural design is Friday, October 3. It was no coincidence that this date was picked; every first Friday of October is California Arts Day. For more on California Arts Day and the impact and importance of the arts, even in small towns like Patterson, check out the California Arts Council website. For more information on Patterson's Centennial and the Centennial Mural Project, check out Patterson100.org.

Below is a photo by Elias Funez of the first Centennial Mural design submitted. For purpose of judging the designs on it's own merits, the designers of these murals will be kept a secret...

(The artist) tried to convey Patterson’s past, present and future as viewed by one of Patterson’s families.

It includes the D.B. George house when the palm trees were first planted on Las Palmas. The three cyclists in front of the historical building in the circle represent the Amgen tour. The Del Puerto Hotel is on the right side of the mural and the Senior Center of the future is on the left. The Plaza Center Building is registered as an historical landmark. The largest celebration of the year is the Apricot Fiesta, so the banner is depicted between two palm trees. The Apricot Fiesta logo is under the Centennial sign.

Patterson’s agricultural base is represented by an orchard in the left-upper corner, as is a farm with rows of produce. A steam thresher, as pictured on the upper-right, was made by W.W. Cox and taken in 1909 as it harvested barley.

The image of four men by a vintage car on the lower-left is thought to be taken by T.W. Patterson. He reportedly told W.W. Cox, “Will, I want to start a town here – will you harvest the barley as soon as you can, so I can have it surveyed.” W.W. Cox is in the center, leaning on his car.

Lastly, the mural includes the aqueduct and a nod to Diablo Grande’s golf course.