It was another beautiful sunny day in the Santa Clarita Valley and despite the warmer weather, the community came together to celebrate and enjoy an afternoon of art: the unveiling of three historic wall murals in Old Town Newhall. The wall mural project is part of the City’s enhancement program of the arts and theater. “The City of Santa Clarita is thrilled to showcase these magnificent canvases of art depicting the beauty and historic points of interest of Newhall. The murals will serve to visually simulate the environment of the Newhall Arts and Theatre District while developing new attractions that are representative of Newhall’s history and character,” commented Mayor Marsha McLean. The paintings are a beautiful addition, adding more culture and history to the already historic Old Town district.
Victoria Sulski has a love of art that started many years ago. She graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a MFA in drawing and painting, and upon graduating embarked on her 20-year teaching career. Sulski recently completed a large mural for the new Morgan Hill Public Library in the Santa Clara County. She was part of the artist team that worked on the mural located at the Source. Her partner was Peter Bartczak. His passion for art started as a young child and continues to grow to this day. Bartczak attended Pratt Institute in New York City and graduated with a degree in filmmaking. He then moved to San Francisco where he took up airbrush and created Clownbank Studio, which specializes in airbrush murals, signs and illustrations. Together they created the mesmerizing mural “The Walk of Western Stars.” This beautiful mural captures an old-time feeling of Western nights. The inspiration came to Sulski one night as she was gazing up at the constellations and a thought came to her, “What if the movie stars were constellations?” She began painting and soon an age old question was answered for her, “What happens to film, theater and radio stars once they pass on: why, they go to the Star Gallery up in the sky.” Peter added his film expertise and sketched an old Western town and cameraman into the painting. Sulski comments, “I realized that it was a tribute not only to the stars of the Western film world, but it was also a memorial to a way of life that has ended.”
Nichole Ponsler is a remarkable and very talented artist who is currently represented by the Stewart-Kummer Gallery in Gualala, CA. She studied Art and Art History in Florence, Italy where she was captivated with the Italian masters. Ponsler painted the mural, the California Vaquero located at El Trocadero. The mural “tells the story of the original cowboys who settled the ranch lands in central and southern California.” Her composition reflects the “immensity and wild nature of the Vaqueros.” The grand size and vibrant colors of the mural are truly astonishing.
Frank Rock has been doodling since his childhood, but recently turned his passion of art to a livelihood. He is a local, self-taught artist and his works range from tropical to fantasy whimsical. Rock’s idea of heaven on earth is to create works of art. Rock painted the mural, “The History of Santa Clarita’s Southern Hotel,” located at the Work Boot Warehouse. Being a Santa Clarita native, giving back to his community through his passion of art was very special for him and an experience he will never forget.
Each mural has a special UV and Anti-graffiti coating ensuring that the murals will be protected.
Community members will now have the pleasure of viewing these very beautiful works of art as they stroll through Old Town Newhall for many years to come.
For more information on Santa Clarita’s Arts and Events, please call 661-286-4018.