John Pugh's New Murals
Having a cow: Valentine's Day, a mural unveiled during the Global Mural Conference in Twentynine Palms, California
Greek tragedy: But the Doric-style columns apparently exposed in this university hall are nothing but paint
Wonder wave: John Pugh's Mana Nalu mural in Honolulu. Fire crews rushed to save the children from the mighty wave - before realising it was an optical illusion
Treasure trove: An Egyptian style mural adorns a wall in Los Gatos, California. Pugh paints people into the mural to heighten the 3D effect
The mural Siete Punto Uno is located on Main Street in the town of Los Gatos, California. Los Gatos was one of the communities that suffered the most significant damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Considered the propitiator of earthquakes, the Mayan jaguar god (as represented in the mural) is grafted with the “cats” of Los Gatos to become one of the key metaphors of this concept.
Take a pew: This looks like a nice spot to rest your weary feet on a sidewalk in Sarasota County Health Center, Florida
Blurring the lines: A mural entitled Art Imitating Life Imitating Art Imitating Life, at the Cafe Trompe L'oeil, in San Jose, California
The creation Art Imitating Life Imitating Art Imitating Life at the Cafe Trompe L’oeil (now Cafe Espresso) in San Jose (pictured above), involved painstaking research and preparation including a coinciding trip to Paris, France. Here the use and integration of pre-existing surrounding material was taken to a new level. Every subject and artwork realized in this virtual extension of the restaurant are an original creation in their own right. Carefully crafted to more than just resemble the finest art of France’s past, its scholarly devotion to authenticity is an homage.
Michael Lane and Associates, Los Gatos, CA
Art in Public Places, Miami, Florida
Children can cool off and play in a public fountain, climb the courtyard tree, or smell the sweet fragrance of a Florida orange. Using the illusionary painting style, arched entrances open into a world of Moorish architecture with a Southern Florida slant. The colorful approach to this mural project is not unlike the rest of the building’s Moroccan theme — not to mention the Opa Locka region.
Art in Public Places, Miami, Florida
Palo Alto Medical Facility, Palo Alto, CA
U.C. Santa Cruz is often referred to as the ‘”school of organic consciousnesses”. This liberal beach city of Santa Cruz also seems to emulate that school of thought, striving to preserve its land and marine environment.
Trick of the eye: John inserts a passer-by into the mural painted in Santa Cruz, California, entitled Bay in a Bottle, who is watching the ocean scene
Art in Public Places, Tehachapi CA
Images clockwise: full mural, detail of fracture (middle of mural), detail of a front-end cab engine (left mural), detail of right side of mural.
Art in Public Places, Tehachapi CA
Trick of the eye: John inserts a passer-by into the mural painted in Santa Cruz, California, entitled Bay in a Bottle, who is watching the ocean scene
He works on a large scale in public and residential areas and his
paintings can be seen all over the world from New Zealand to Hawaii –
with many telling a story of the area where they are positioned.
Pugh is used to people’s amazed reactions when they pass his murals. He
said: ‘They say “wow did you see that. I thought that was real.”
‘Public art can link people together and stimulate a sense of pride within the community.
‘These life-size illusions allow me to communicate with a very large audience.
‘It seems almost universal that people take delight in being visually tricked.’
Pugh is currently working on a mural for a police station in California and also one for a recreation centre in Calgary, Canada.
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