This is an interior mural adjacent to a bocce ball court in the Galileo Club, Richmond, CA. Started May 2020, completed October 2020. This project is dedicated to my hometown and my Italian heritage. Details I included: Red Oak Victory and Rosie The Riveter representing the shipyard complex built by Kaiser. Her goggles are hanging up to signify completion and prospective world peace. The hills and Mt. Tamalpais of Marin make up the background. I was in constant awe this mountain range growing up and the sunsets that would hug its western side. I was able to hike to the peak of the mountain with my troop and be able to take in the beautiful region of the Bay. I inserted the Italian peninsula for cohesion of the piece. Pt. Richmond is at the receiving end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, with its own tunnel, overgrown plants and its small village energy. Inherently, I had to add California poppies and my favorite flower hydrangeas which were prominent at a lakeside village, Stresa, Italy, I visited with my parents in 2012. The buildings are just a selection from the historic Pt. Richmond square including “The Plunge” or Natatorium, Up and Under Pub, and Hotel Mac. And in between is the infamous wigwag for the railroad crossing, now out of commission. A turkey representing the Turkey Shoot that occurs every Thanksgiving in Pt. Richmond where the town meets at the Plunge, walks through town, and reads a poem that grows a stanza a year. They finish with a shot of Wild Turkey 101. A depiction of a bocce ball tournament that the Galileo Club has organized more frequently within the past decade post court renovations. The Richmond Country Club where my parents had their wedding reception as the background with the Bay’s infamous fog laying above. I added a false attic to the clubhouse to house Galileo and his observatory. He is ringing the “casino” bell notifying that the bocce players scored max points in a round. I included a silhouetted dancing couple gracefully sliding to post-war tunes in the ballroom. The greenhouses below show lesser known history of Richmond and the reason my father moved to California: roses. There were several Japanese families, in this case the Ninomiya’s. The family owned and operated a rose growing business but not without the struggle of racial issues and being forced into internment camps. On the street is a local donut shop mascot of Andy’s Donuts. He is driving toward lettuce fields that were a prominent crop that Italian immigrants first planted when they moved to California. Next to the clubhouse there’s the Galileo Club Way street sign that the club was able to acquire from the city for a small stretch of So. 23rd St. And on top of the sign is an Italian Sparrow, their national bird. An iconic, mid century sign for a drive-in milk store found on 23rd St. To couple with the Italian sparrow I included a California quail nestled on a redwood tree and the sign’s stylized arrow. Adjacent to the sign is an interpretation of a Roman fountain being lit from below. Other landmarks include the leaning tower of Pisa, a Venetian gondola, and Monte Bianco (Italy’s highest peak that borders France). I incorporated an olive tree grove, draping ivy vines found in Rome, and a vineyard drenched in the moonlight. A pizza is being slid out of a wood fired oven inspired by my former job at Fiorella. And lastly a villa tucked away in the hills reminiscent of Tuscany.

Interior latex paint and acrylic
7.5 x 56 ft.