Flower Bubble + Echo the Astronaut Murals by createasea • Julie Gonzalez • Cash For The Arts
A local artist with dreams of painting around the world brings a little bit of beauty to East Bakersfield. Julie Gonzalez began painting when she was seven years old and hasn’t stopped since.
“I draw my inspiration from pop culture, music and also from graffiti art as well as traditional art. I love to experiment with different styles and mediums, but my specialty is acrylic. I love my community and I stand for the betterment of Bakersfield and our people.”
Gonzalez, who works under the name Createasea, used her Cash for the Arts grant to bring two murals to East Bakersfield – “Flower Bubble” and “Echo the Astronaut.” She sees the impact artistic points of interest have made in communities from Los Angeles to East Chester and hopes she can do the same for her neighborhood.
“Flower Bubble” is dedicated to students impacted by COVID-19. You can see a young girl blowing bubbles and the young girls name is Flower. I drew 3 bubbles to signify the 1st 3 years of high school, I didn’t include the 4th because unfortunately students that were graduating this year lost their 4th year due to school closures due to COVID-19. I can deeply relate to this because my sister is graduating Golden Valley High School and I have seen how this has impacted her senior year, as well as other graduates. Many students, like my sister, are feeling left out and forgotten and have quickly lost the normalcy to their lives, I wanted to create something special for them. - @createasea
He wears a pink suit as a representation of mankind. He presents the equality of both men and women, which is why he wears the two most genderized colors. I believe the most amazing accomplishment as mankind has been to travel to the moon. This was once considered impossible but we’ve managed to make it a reality.
The astronaut concept represents achieving the impossible together. I have space reflected in the helmet but not in the background for a specific purpose- we each have our own vision and our own definition of accomplishments. - @createasea
“People unite over a bond of similar interest and they rave over things that they see themselves in, such as selfie-walls. I want to bring this positive outlook to east side of Bakersfield. Our people need it and they need hope and something to look forward to when the lock down is over. I want to be able to bring this to them.”
For Gonzalez this project is about leading by example.
“My hopes for the art scene are that more artists emerge that are motivated to paint a different picture for Bakersfield. If we don't change our position of Bakersfield and what the city represents, no one outside of it will do it for us. We must start from the inside to out. What our city represents to outsiders is up to us.”
Cash for the Arts is a unique grant program by The Hub of Bakersfield that’s putting money in the hands of local creators while providing an arts experience for residents coping with social distancing and stay-at-home orders.