Agricultural bounty paints the town

Modesto’s walls runneth over with its bountiful harvest.

The latest Murals in Motown project honors the area’s rich agricultural history. The new painting was unveiled Tuesday evening on the side of Dewz Restaurant at J and 15th streets. The group’s first mural, completed two years ago, was a tribute to famed Modesto mountaineer Royal Robbins on the side of Camp 4 Wine Cafe.

The volunteer group Murals in Motown plans, finances and commissions area artists to create large-scale murals celebrating the region. The latest work is from Bay Area artist Francisco Franco, who grew up in Empire. The 37-by-8-foot painting, called “Corazon Del Valle,” or “Heart of the Valley,” depicts the area’s agriculture fields and harvest, along with the city’s iconic arch.

“This painting is about the abundance here in the Valley,” said Franco, who discounted his rate for the project. “The whole community was really excited about this piece and we got a lot of love.”

Murals in Motown hopes to help raise the area’s spirits and profile with the project.

“When we came together as a group, it was about what we could do to celebrate Modesto and raise our pride,” said board member Karlha Davies, who is the group’s public relations director. “There’s this whole idea from some people that Modesto sucks. But we want to show people that Modesto is a great place. So we want to create murals to celebrate that and remind people this is what makes Modesto a beautiful place to live.”

The group isn’t alone in its efforts to help beautify Modesto one wall at a time. The Peer Recovery Art Project and its Classic Community Murals project has finished 10 “American Graffiti”-themed murals around town in recent years, including its latest in an alley off the 1000 block of J Street.

Davies said she is pleased to have two groups working toward the same goal in the city.

“What (Classic Community Murals) are doing is so fantastic. It’s just different, but we’re partners with them,” Davies said. “It’s not a competition. They have their ‘American Graffiti’ thing down and we try to do other things to remind people it’s about great things in our community.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2015 at 7:26 PM with the headline "Agricultural bounty paints the town."