| Arts & Entertainment - Friday, November 6, 2009
Strokes of history
Artists creating sepia-toned mural on the side of Valley Plumbing building downtown
by Janet Pelletier
A peek into Pleasanton's past is coming alive through the hands of artists, the latest mural to surface in downtown as public art.
Artists Ron Norman and Bill Weber are hard at work on a sepia-toned mural on the side of the Valley Plumbing building on Peters Avenue at its intersection with Rose Avenue. It will showcase remnants of Pleasanton's history -- from railroading to ice cream shops to Model Ts.
The work began a month ago and will wrap up in the next few weeks, but there's still plenty of time for anyone interested to see it take shape, as Norman and Weber will be out many early mornings through the lunch hour.
Mike Cheney, owner of Valley Plumbing, which also has a rich history in town, said he received approval for the artwork from the Pleasanton Civic Arts Commission last month. The mural was an idea of the Pleasanton Downtown Association, which Cheney said approached him about the project.
"We thought it would be great to see what they would propose we paint on the side of our warehouse," Cheney said. "The metal siding was not attractive and was a great space for something like this."
Weber and Norman approached the PDA with their bid to use the surface as it is and paint a mural that looks like a sepia-tone photograph.
The two artists said they've never painted on a rippled metal surface before, but it's been a welcomed feat.
"It's a little bit harder, but we're up for the challenge," Norman said.
Norman, now a resident of Pacheco up near Pleasant Hill, lived in Pleasanton for over 20 years and painted the mural in the City Council Chamber depicting Pleasanton's and Tulancingo, Mexico's sister city relationship in 1984. Weber has also created murals that can be seen across the Bay Area, including a jazz-themed one in downtown San Francisco.
The pair had to use a special primer paint to cover the galvanized metal and finished with a coat of Navajo white. The next step in the process has been using large sheets of white paper to sketch out the design that is then transferred onto the mural. Brown paint will be the only color used to create the historic effect.
The mural is about 40 percent complete. When finished, it will feature what Main Street used to look like in the 1920s with an ice cream shop (Meadowlark Dairy), Ford Model Ts, the Pleasanton train depot and a giant Southern Pacific steam train that appears as if it's leaping out onto the street. To properly capture Pleasanton's history, the artists said they went to the Museum on Main to gather old photographs. They then took the photos and created a pastiche or collage that could then translate into a mural.
Norman and Weber have known each other for over 25 years and often work as a pair, putting art shows on across the Bay Area. Their primary medium is surrealism, Weber said, but they both enjoy doing murals, and are increasingly turning their business pursuits toward painting murals in people's homes.
Cheney said he's happy to be leaving a piece of history for residents to see.
"This will be a great addition to the downtown," he said.
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