Vision Art Fest brings five new murals to downtown Hollister

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Colorful new murals emerged at various locations throughout downtown Hollister as the San Benito County Arts Council hosted Vision Art Fest from Aug. 25 through Sept. 7.  

The new mural artists and locations include Gregory Schilling and Vanazir Martinez, both at East and Wentz Streets; Joey Rose at Hollister Super (211 Third Street); Joshua Lawyer at the County Office of Education (460 5th Street); and Angelica Navarro at Cheung Sheng (730 San Benito Street).  

According to Jennifer Laine, executive director of the San Benito County Arts Council, the project has been in the planning stages for a while. Laine said the council applied for an Impact Project Grant from the California Arts Council and received $25,000 to fund the work.

“We knew that amount would not be enough to pay the artists for the size and scale we had in mind,” Laine said. “We reached out to local sponsors such as Edward Jones Financial and Corbin Motorcycle Saddles to provide additional funding so we could increase the fees and pay artists a good wage for their time.” 

Laine said the council wanted to concentrate the artwork in the downtown area to create a public art walking tour that would allow people to see the whole project in a single day. 

Schilling, who lives in Sacramento, said he has been painting since he was a youngster, inspired by cartoons, animation and comic books. He said artists Robert Crumb and Bill Watterson, along with the Hellboy comics, influenced his work in a big way. 

“I’m trying to do this mural in my own style,” he said. “But it’s definitely inspired by cartooning, cubism, impressionism, and by creating expressive faces on the wall that are interacting with one another during the Hollister Farmers Market.” 

Schilling said he hopes people feel inspired by the paintings, especially teenagers.

“People in small towns are often good at drawing,” he said. “It can lead to a career, and I like proving that.” 

Rose lives in Oakland and likes to paint native animals, including big-eared bats, which are native to Pinnacles National Park and currently endangered.

“I wanted to kind of point a finger towards endangered species,” Rose said. “I’m painting a tiger salamander on the top, which is another important local species here, and then doing a big bowl in the center to kind of symbolize the local agriculture here.”  

Rose said that people might have mixed feelings about paintings of animals that aren’t typically viewed as beautiful.

Laine said she invites the public to look at these murals through a child’s eyes and wonder what they see in the colors and images. 

“We hope we are always working to build awareness of the value of art, the power of art,” she said. “And we really believe public art will encourage people to think more creatively and imaginatively.”

San Benito County Arts Council will host a walking tour of the murals from 10 a.m to 11 a.m. on Sept. 18.

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