Fraser Valley summers are short and sweet, allowing minimal time for exterior paint projects. For mural artists participating in Fraser’s 2018 Mural Project, they value every moment of warm sunshine, which helps their masterpiece’s “cure”. Earlier this summer, the Fraser Public Arts Committee embarked on an aggressive project schedule, awarding 9 projects of varied sizes with funds needed to create works of art on their respective building walls, both commercial and residential, throughout the town of Fraser.

On Monday morning, artist Emanuel Martinez began the process of bringing his sketched rendering to life on the northwestern wall of Fraser Valley Elementary School. With the help of Fraser’s Public Arts Committee and community members, the mural, emphasizing the natural beauty of Fraser, features mountains, wildflowers, water and local wildlife. The mural should be completed by the time this edition of the Winter Park Times hits the streets.

About the artist

Born in Denver, Emanuel Martinez began his career as an artist at the age of thirteen, when he painted his first mural. His art education includes workshops with renowned artists and sculptors, including David A Siquieros and Francisco Zuniga. At the age of 20, Emanuel did a major work and two other pieces that are now in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Art in Washington DC.

As a muralist, painter and sculptor, he occupies an outstanding status among nationally known artists. Since establishing a studio in 1968, Martinez has received international acclaim and prestigious awards for his design capabilities and high standards of workmanship. He enjoys personalizing compositions for clients and doing public works of art for site-specific environments, which made him the perfect choice for this project.

Martinez’ work is lively and timeless, yet conveys a sense of serenity. He has been featured in over 300 newspaper and magazine articles and 37 published books, including a book written on his career entitled “Emanuel Martinez: A Retrospective”. You can find out more about the artist at: emanuelmartinez.com.

“I paint in both oils and acrylics, depending on what effects, what subjects and what I feel like painting with”, says Martinez. “Each medium has its own characteristics or properties that are different, yet they allow us to express the same idea but with a different underlying feeling. We compose with the basic elements of all painting; shape, color and line. However, the feelings a medium evokes in the artist and viewer are different from one another. It’s like reading the same poem in two different languages. Both versions can say more or less. My responsibility, as an artist, is simply to say more with whatever medium I choose to work with. As for the finished artwork, I’ll leave that up to the viewer to interpret.”

The Fraser Public Arts Committee awarded $1,000 toward the project, and, Mountain Parks Electric provided a matching $1,000 grant for playground enhancement.