DoMo Walls
DoMo Walls was envisioned as an expansion of FASM Creative Battle, a mural festival that operated like an art competition.
In 2018, the Downtown Modesto Partnership partnered with the FASM Creative Battle to amplify the growing energy of Downtown Modesto by bringing large-scale art installations to the heart of the city. To date, 25 world-stage murals have been installed by DoMo Walls artists and are treasured by this Central Valley community. Now, the festival is less like a competition and more like an art love fest, a celebration of the whimsy that always resides in the beating heart of every solid community.
2023
Ricky Watts
Mural Location: 928 11th St
On the back of the Modesto Children's Museum
Ricky’s colorful large-scale murals and intricate paintings on canvas can be found throughout the United States. His commissions list includes work for well-known technology, fashion & automotive companies. Ricky Watts currently works out of his Northern California studio & spends his “free time” raising energetic four-year-old twins.
July of 2018 marked his largest mural art piece to date at the Las Vegas Circus Center while Ohio marked yet another site for a Ricky Watts mural work during the Sonic Temple Festival. As his body of work begins to grow, so does Ricky’s insatiable appetite for the unique. And hey, if you want to own a personal part of Ricky Watt’s artwork, check out his signed coloring books. Soon, you will be able to purchase them at the new Modesto Children’s Museum gift shop.
With an impressive 37 public works, 18 solo exhibitions, and 89 group exhibitions, it is fair to say that we have a seasoned expert installing artwork that the children of the region will enjoy for years to come.
Emily Ding
Mural Location: 1012 11th Street
On the old Pacific Bell Bulding, now G & K Inc.
Emily Ding is a muralist who draws inspiration from flora, fauna, & human temperament. Her large-scale work is characterized by expressive animals & figures, which come to life through bold color gradients & a fluid, painterly, style. Resonating deeply with the phenomena of the natural world, she aims to communicate emotions and experiences through storytelling with wild creatures and people.
2022
Camer1
Mural Location: 1324 J Street
Mayol & Barringer Law Offices
Cameron Moberg (San Francisco), whose artist name is Camer1, is an internationally sought artist, teacher, and public art advocate who is driven to add life and color to urban areas otherwise known for concrete and blight.
Joel Aguilar
Mural Location: 1307 J Street
The State Theatre
Joel Aguilar (Livingston) has been in the art industry for over seven years and a muralist for two. Today, Joel is working on several murals intended to be multi-cultural and represent local communities in Livingston, California. In February of 2021, Aguilar made his mark as a social-historic artist in the South side of Merced with an art installation depicting civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Aguilar said, “I feel blessed to be honoring Martin Luther King Jr. in this area. The south side of Merced is a little bit neglected, and I am hoping my artwork speaks volumes here. Giving the walls a splash of color in our community can brighten someone’s day and encourage others to carry on.”
Fasm
Mural Location: 1016 12th Street
Omega Pacific Insurance Solutions
Fasm (Modesto) has been an international mural artist for three decades, making his mark in five countries, fifteen north American states, and numerous California cities. As co-producer of DoMo Walls, Fasm stated, “The mission of DoMo Walls is to help Modestans become a more art-centric community. Public art creates community pride as well as a sense of belonging and ownership. It makes spaces more beautiful and interesting, can act as vandalism abatement, and increases commerce in areas where art is attracting more visitors.”
Shane Grammer
Mural Location: 1016 12th Street
Omega Pacific Insurance Solutions
Shane Grammer (Los Angeles) is a contemporary multi-disciplinary artist with a focus on art installations, sculptures, and paintings. As an art director, he has held prestigious roles such as Senior Dimensional Designer for Walt Disney Imagineering. Grammer has managed small to large-scale teams through conceptual design, fabrication, and installation projects all over the world. During the devastating California wildfires in 2018, Grammer was compelled to restore beauty in the Paradise community by painting multiple murals in areas that had suffered great ruin in the fire. He stated, “I wanted to paint something that brought hope in the middle of complete destruction.”
Maxxer
Mural Location: 1016 14th Street
Never Boring Designs
Maxxer (Anaheim) is known for work that is colorful, culturally relevant, and heavily influenced by the evolution of street art in the United States. Early in Maxxer’s career, around 1994, he and his colleagues formed F4D Studios, a coalition of artists who practiced graffiti art and desired a place for collaboration and advanced community engagement.
2021
Drigo
Mural Location: 9th and J Streets
Drigo, a Dallas Texas native, is a lifelong skateboarder, plant-lover, and artist who loves to beautify and enlighten public spaces. Drigo’s mural is on the 9th Street-facing wall of historic Murray and Jones building. For morning commuters stopping by Starbucks for their coffee, it’s a daily gift of vibrant color and natural shapes.
Patricia Pratt
Mural Location: 13th Street between J and K Streets,
MPOA building behind The State Theatre
Patricia Pratt’s installed her mural at the MPOA wall on 13th Street, right behind downtown's historic State Theatre. A bouquet of wildflowers seemingly breaking free from the brick wall, it greets passersby with the sweetness of the natural world in an urban setting.
Hailing from Merced, Patricia is deeply involved in an emerging local art scene, owning and operating her own art gallery in Merced’s downtown. And her influence continues to reach beyond. She is California Director of Urbanists Collective, a non-profit art collective whose mission is to promote urban arts-based careers in the Central Valley. She is also a member of Las Hermanas, an all-female murals art collective, as well as a member of HEM Crew, a graffiti-based artis collective from Tijuana, Mexico. Raised in Delhi and growing in a lineage of sign makers and pin-stripers, Pratt’s keen sense of art as work began to blossom. Since, it has grown and evolved into what she sees as a tool for activism and positive social change, always mindful of her ancestry, nature, and lessons learned from teachers who share in loving yet straightforward manners. Of particular interest is the use of art as graffiti abatement, imploring cities to enrich and invest in environments with art instead of cover-up paint. We couldn’t agree more!
Sam Dominguez
Mural Location: 13th Street between J and K Streets,
MPOA building behind The State Theatre
Samuel Dominguez (Modesto), who has installed many murals at schools and businesses around town, has broken out into the urban art scene thanks to DoMo Walls. Dominguez has been practicing art since his childhood, maturing in his practice and incorporating it into his craftsmanship as not only a craftsmen contractor but also for commissioned artwork.
Dominguez started a self-taught artist but began asking to sit in on a variety of art classes at Modesto Junior College whenever he could outside of his family time and work. Today, his painstaking attention to detail lends itself to Dominguez’ signature depictions of soulful, toughened and deeply relatable human forms, the favored subject of his work.
2019
Jenna Morello
Mural Location: Mural Alley, on 10th Street
between I and J Streets
New Jersey native-turned-Brooklyn artist Jenna Morello began drawing as a child before she even knew how to properly write her name. Fast forward to present day: Morello is a powerhouse street artist. It takes a special type of person to be a street artist so, as it is with many industries, it can be even more difficult to break in as a woman. Jenna has been at this for a while, and her strength proves to be consistent. Enormous representations of nature juxtaposed with the urban settings they are installed in have become a hallmark of Morello’s.
Bacon
Mural Location: Mural Alley, on 10th Street
between I and J Streets
Bacon’s youth as a skater got him hooked into the world of graffiti art. The skate park he frequented was like a guerilla gallery of graffiti, and he couldn’t help but begin painting on his own in the 90’s. Bacon became best known for his colorful works lining the alleys and streets of Toronto and, thus, has achieved international recognition. In his downtown Modesto mural, Bacon depicts one of the concrete lion statues from the 7th Street Bridge, also known as “The Lion’s Bridge.” The Lion’s Bridge, built in the 1917, stretches across Tuolumne River with its French neoclassism and some elements of Gothic and Renaissance styles.
Shack Chavez
Mural Location: Mural Alley 2, on J Street
between 10th and 11th Streets
Each of Shack Chavez’ designs are bright and impeccably detailed, drawing inspiration from anime, superheroes and nature and more. @shack_clvr owns @clvrstudio which specializes in murals and paintings for business all throughout Juárez, Chihuahua, México.
J.Gomar
Mural Location: Mural Alley 2, on J Street
between 10th and 11th Streets
Muralist @j.gomar1 grew up in the Modesto area in a home filled with his mother’s art and a strong connection to his Mexican heritage, both of which he carries with him as he observes the current world around us. You can see this influence in his downtown Modesto mural.
Cobre
Mural Location: Mural Alley, on 10th Street
between I and J Streets
Artist Andres Iglesias, popularly known as Cobre, started painting at the age of 14 in his hometown Santa Fe, Argentina. Painting in those days was an adventure, an escape from the pressures of high school.
As Cobre continued his education, he moved to Granada, Spain, where he studied 2D and 3D animation, 3D modelling and filmmaking. He completed his studies in Barcelona where he studied screenwriting and advanced animation. This academic and artistic background equipped Andres with the tools and skills needed to tell a story with a single image.
Iglesias never ceased painting for enjoyment. He developed his technique from simple characters to 3D letters, caricatures and, finally, to the hyper-realistic portraiture that characterizes his contemporary work. Portraits are his strong suit. Obsessed with detail, he challenges himself to make them appear alive, with that special, ineffable twinkle in their eyes. His work has been described as hyper-realistic muralism, with a touch of illustration in his color pallet. In recent years, Andres has traveled the globe to share his art. Holland, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay, and the United States are a few of the places that have hosted Cobre’s large-scale, high-impact pieces. A stickler for completely original art and sourcing, Cobre depicts a woman posing as Princess Leia, a nod to Modesto-born George Lucas who went on to create Star Wars.
Mez Data
Mural Location: Mural Alley, on 10th Street
between I and J Streets
Mez Data hails from Austin, Texas, the live music capital of the world. This artist has a unique style of caricatures with life-like tone and subtle humor. In honor of the 80th anniversary of Batman, Mez data painted a mural of Batman near the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin. Why Batman you wonder? Because at night thousands of bats can be seen leaving the bridge for their evening hunt! In his downtown mural, Mez data depicts a savant who can magically remove and replace his finger, one of the oldest (and fondly remembered) tricks in the book!
Pawn
Mural Location: Mural Alley 2, on J Street
between 10th and 11th Streets
Lord Pawn (aka Ryan Rhodes) is a full-time artist and muralist from Sacramento. His artistic vision often includes mystical dreamscapes in rich shades of blue with geometric overlays. His ability to be hyper-realistic and monochromatic is what sets him apart. With commissions from The Sacramento Kings, The Crocker Art Museum, Pawn is highly regarded around the world. In fact, this particular mural has been shared numerous times by bloggers and art watchers who keep their eyes on murals that hit the world stage.
2018
Souler
Mural Location: Mural Alley, on 10th Street
between I and J Streets
Souler @dr_souler is Emanuel Orozco, a graffiti artist based in Guatemala City. He has participated in mural festivals in countries around the world but, when he’s home, he’s a practicing MD who loves being father to his daughter, Sofia. Orozco is the leader of an Art Ministry called Amén Familia as well as a member of a graffiti crew based in Los Angeles called ISI (Iron Sharpens Iron). Graffiti and mural events have taken Orozco from Bonito Mi Barrio and Alia2 in Guatemala to Area 503 in El Salvador, Kulturefestival in Denmark and Uprock in Australia and DoMo Walls in 2018.
Royyal Dog
Mural Location: Mural Alley, on 10th Street
between I and J Streets
Royyal Dog is Chris Chanyang Shim and hails from South Korea. Shim is a Korean street artist who grew up in love with American hip hop culture. In school, he studied drawing and animation but couldn’t help but be drawn to graffiti art, eventually traveling as a graffiti artist, learning the many languages he would need to navigate wherever he was going, making connections with other artists, and growing the street art wings that would continue to fly him around the world. Most popular of Shim’s work are depictions of women of color wearing Hanbok, traditional Korean garments. At first, Shim drew criticism for “selling out Korean culture to other countries” but to this he responds: “These works are painted in black neighborhoods; what I was bringing to the scene was the Hanbok. For me, it was as though I was giving Hanbok as a present to the neighborhood.” For Shim, it is like a marriage of what he grew up knowing at home and what he grew up admiring from afar. Shim’s downtown Modesto mural is a depiction of Korean boxer.
Phat1
Mural Location: Mural Alley, on 10th Street
between I and J Streets
Phat1 is Bud Charles, a founding member & president of world championship-winning crew TMD (The Most Dedicated). TMD is a collective of creative individuals who push artistic boundaries and have been global leaders in the urban contemporary art field over the past 20 years. Charles’ personal accolades include winning the 2015 World Ono'u Graffiti Festival in Tahiti. He is one of only three New Zealand artists to be fully sponsored by Ironlak Spray Paint, traveling the world painting as team member and even securing a Guinness World Record for longest graffiti scroll achievement in Dubai, 2014. Much of the art Charles creates is intended to be a visual story connecting the people with the land and its stories. With a passion for Māori heritage, Charles presents modern interpretations of cultural design and native birdlife in an urban context. In his downtown mural, Phat1 pays. Homage to all of the American graffiti artists who inspired a world-wide street art movement. Do you recognize the tags of any of these world-renowned artists?
Paydirt
Mural Location: Mural Alley, on 10th Street
between I and J Streets
Paydirt, also known as Kinetik Ideas, is Anthony Padilla. Padilla is a prolific Sacramento-based artist who started drawing and painting before preschool. His aunt enrolled him in airbrush lessons at age 12 and at age 14, Padilla picked up a spray can and found freedom of motion. Once a self-described "midnight marauder," Padilla realized he could make a living creating art and has since completed hundreds of commissioned pieces. "Ultimately, my goal is to put some color on the horizon, to inject some inspiration into the void and push the boundaries of aerosol art into the future," Anthony states. "If by doing this I can make someone pause for a moment and think differently about their environment, then I've done something to make the world a more interesting place." In 2009, he began exploring the idea of combining art with function. He completed a 27'x 27' self-standing solar mural with funding from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and The Boys and Girls Club. His latest foray into functional sculpture is the "Solar Poppy" funded by a grant from the Crocker Art Museum. The Solar Poppy is a solar powered 8-port USB charging station. Anthony is now working on the first commercial version of the Solar Poppy for the American River College Campus. "The knowledge I have gained from working with structural and electrical engineers, contractors and fabricators further opens my mind to the possibilities of public art. Ultimately I'm planning a marriage between imagination, sculpture, nature, technology and solar power," he says. "When these ideas are combined something beautiful can bloom, helping to power the human race."
Camer1
Mural Location: Mural Alley, on 10th Street
between I and J Streets
Camer1 is Cameron Moberg, San Francisco artist who grew up surrounded by concrete buildings and urban blight and who, with a desire to change his experience of that environment, started with some paint. His art brings nature, spirituality and warmth to spaces that were formerly void of life. His aim is to inspire and invigorate the communities who call those now-vivacious places “home”. But that’s not all; Moberg is also heavily involved in his community, teaching classes for all ages and curating art shows and festivals that uplift artists and encourage community members to pursue their artistic dreams.
Fluro
Mural Location: Mural Alley, on 10th Street
between I and J Streets
Fluro is Holly Ross from New Zealand. Holly’s work has been heavily centered on a style of typography that is influenced by graffiti and signwriting. Her work landed her in a finalist position in Best Design Awards in 2014. Currently, Fluro’s work is focused on installing public works of art, using walls as an opportunity to not only speak to people but also use design as a problem-solving tool in environments that are unique everywhere she goes.
Pilot
Mural Location: Mural Alley, on 10th Street
between I and J Streets
Pilot is Adam Socie, one of Houston’s most highly recognized graffiti artists. At an early age, Socie was drawn to the arts in its many forms and has since become one of the great cultivators of the art scene in Houston, Texas. He works hard year-round, developing and growing well-attended graffiti and street art festivals including Meeting of Styles, an event that attracts mural artists from around the world. In his downtown Modesto mural, Pilot has memorialized the ongoing devastation of California wildfires, something that struck a somber chord with him as he was preparing to make his trip to the Central Valley to paint.