Page 16 - Reedley Exponent 8-16-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent B8 Thursday, August 16, 2018
A splash of color coming to several schools in town
Local artist will work on murals for Grant, Bartsch, and Kings Canyon schools
By Juanita Adame
MidValley Publishing
The temperatures in town reached well above 100 de- grees on Aug. 9, but the heat did not stop artist A.J. Gomez from completing a 25 ft mu- ral at Grant Middle School in Reedley.
"I estimated this wall would take me about 16 hours to do, but I'm probably over that amount of time," said Go- mez.
"So, probably 20 to 24 hours from start to finish, is what a mural this size will take to finish." said Gomez.
Gomez said was contacted by school officials and asked to work on several murals at three different schools in town; Kings Canyon High School, Silas Bartsch School and Grant Middle School.
"This mural here at Grant is going to have the grizzly bear in the middle and its go- ing to be all mosaic kind of feel to it," he said.
Gomez, who said he's been painting for most of his life, has always liked art but doesn't feel he will make it a full time career any time soon.
"I work at Best Buy as an industrial mechanic and I get out at 2:30 p.m. so by the time
LEFT: A.J. Gomez working in scorching temperatures on Aug. 9 to finish a bear mural for Grant MiddleSchool. Gomezisalocal artist who has painted a variety of murals around the Reedley area and the Central Valley.
RIGHT: Gomez is working on a bear theme mural with a mo- saic effect in the background. with the assistance of a lift de- vice, Gomez was able to paint the almost, 30-foot wall.
Juanita Adame MidValleyPublishing
I get here it's probably 3 p.m. or 3:30 p.m.," he said.
"I like working on Indus- trial Equipment, I'm more of a techie kind of guy, but full time? No I don't believe I will be painting murals full time, it's more of a hobby."
Gomez also has help from his wife when working on his artwork.
"I paint them and my wife will come and do the lettering, she's the one who does that part of the mural."
For more information on artwork by A.J. Gomez, visit his Facebook page AngelMu- rals88.
BELOw: A.J. Gomez shows off a bear paw mosaic he painted on the campus of Grant Middle School in Reedley. His wife Natalie Gomez painted the lettering.
Photos by Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Publishing
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