“If these walls could talk” goes the saying — in Sonoma County, they can. Thanks to the work of talented artists, the facades of our local buildings share stories that reflect this area: beautiful, colorful and diverse.

Discover the creative side of Sonoma County by checking out some of our favorite local murals. Summer is a great time to get outside for a public art day trip.

Petaluma

“Sonoma” by Maxfield Bala

Maxfield Bala fell in love with drawing and all things art when he was a middle school student doodling in the corners of his notebooks. As a Petaluma local, he never thought he would have an opportunity to bring his small drawings to life in a big way. Today, Bala is one of a handful of North Bay artists sought out by local art committees and city planning departments to design and paint larger-than-life public art installations. 2557 Petaluma Blvd. S., Petaluma

“Welcome to Petaluma” by Maxfield Bala

This mural, spanning 50-feet wide and 13-feet tall, is one of multiple projects Bala has been asked to contribute to Sonoma County. “The welcome mural I am painting has so many features that represent the city that are iconic to Petaluma that we have all grown up with as a community,” said 25-year-old Bala in a 2019 interview. “It is just nice to give back to the community in the way I know how, which is through art.” Petaluma Boulevard South, along Highway 101 heading toward San Francisco.

Phoenix Theater Mural by Ricky Watts

A “splash of cosmic color” in downtown Petaluma, local artist Ricky Watts’s 3,000-square-foot mural transformed the southern wall of the Phoenix Theater into a huge outdoor art exhibit in 2013. In 2015, Claus Brigmann, with the help of Mike Hollibaugh, built a solar-powered LED lighting system to illuminate the mural after dark. Watts describes his artwork’s abstract style as “space rainbows,” with fluid shapes and colors that intertwine. The Phoenix Theater, 201 Washington St., Petaluma

Various Murals, American Alley

Alleyways aren’t typically known for their photographic potential, but Petaluma’s American Alley is an exception. This hidden gem is home to abstract and realist murals. Painted on historic brick buildings, they offer a glimpse into the life of the working class. The murals were painted by various artists during the O+ Festival in November 2015. Located between Petaluma Boulevard North and Kentucky Street, off of Washington Street.

Santa Rosa

“Dreamer” by Rima Makaryan

Artist Rima Makaryan, a Montgomery High School junior, wants people to see beauty in the immigrant experience, and not just focus on border walls, family separations and other charged elements of the current debate. Drawing on her own experience as an Armenian immigrant, Makaryan pushes viewers of her work to appreciate those who come to this country seeking better lives, or to escape hardship or violence in their native lands. Montgomery High School, 1250 Hahman Drive, Santa Rosa

Untitled Mural by MJ Lindo-Lawyer, Joshua Lawyer, Big Hepos

Husband-and-wife artists Joshua Lawyer and MJ Lindo-Lawyer, along with friend and fellow artist Big Hepos, completed work on this Santa Rosa Avenue mural in December, 2018. Only five months later, the mural was vandalized. The faces it depicted, two of them brown, had been splashed with white paint. Thanks to a successful GoFundMe campaign, the artwork was restored. While the original had featured the faces in profile, the restored version shows the faces looking straight at the viewer. 505 and 514 Santa Rosa Ave., on a former used car lot at the corner with Sebastopol Avenue.

“Battle of Good versus Evil” by Joshua Lawyer, MJ Lindo-Lawyer and Big Hepos

A struggle between light and darkness, the idea behind this mural was “a David and Goliath story arch,” according to Joshua Lawyer. It depicts two figures, face-to-face in a wrestling ring: an indigenous woman in jeans, sweatshirt and Converse shoes facing a looming Lucha Libre-masked wrestler, painted in darker, heavier tones. The mural sits on a Roseland site that has historically been a community gathering place, the meeting spot for protests and the location for the annual Cinco de Mayo fiesta. 883 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa

Untitled Mural by Daniel Doughty and Nick Jensen

The South of A Street arts district — SOFA — covers a few blocks between Santa Rosa Avenue and South A Street, bordering Sebastopol and Sonoma avenues and neighboring Juilliard Park. A great destination for art appreciation, it is home to galleries as well as street art. A manga-inspired mural, created by Daniel Doughty and Nick Jensen, can be found in SOFA’s Art Alley.

Guernica Mural by Mario Uribe

Ever since local artist Mario Uribe was in art school, almost 60 years ago, he’s been moved by Pablo Picasso’s 1937 oil painting Guernica. One of Picasso’s best known works, it captures the horrors of war in a scene depicting the German aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Today, the painting is exhibited in the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid. Thanks to Uribe, locals and visitors to Sonoma County can see a reproduction of it it in SOFA’s Art Alley. “The message in Guernica fits our world today and deserves to be replicated,” says Uribe, who projected the painting onto the wall at night and traced it. He then premixed the colors for the mural and several Artstart apprentices helped paint the various areas, while Uribe put in the finishing touches. 461 Sebastopol Ave., Santa Rosa

Mandala Mural by Bud Snow

This bold and brightly colored mandala was created by muralist Julia Davis, aka Bud Snow, in the shallow bed of an abandoned fountain in Juilliard Park. The large, circular artwork features concentric rings of abstract, mythological-looking creatures Snow thinks of as contemporary versions of prehistoric, or perhaps, evolutionary beasts. “I’m interested in urban cave painting — discussing community, spirituality, friendship, joy, love — through simplified, abstracted but recognizable forms,” the Oakland artist said in a 2016 interview. Juilliard Park, Santa Rosa

Laura Kelly Memorial Mural by Bud Snow

The loss of a friend powered Bud Snow’s largest project to date: a vertical mural six stories high on the backside of Santa Rosa’s Roxy theater. Laura Nicole Kelly, a Sonoma County practitioner of Ayurvedic medicine, died from cancer in 2016. “She was my best friend. A lot of people were touched and healed by Laura,” said Snow, whose tribute to her friend takes the shape of a processional banner, featuring images that the late Kelly shared with Snow. Behind Roxy Stadium 14 on First Street, Santa Rosa.

Palms Inn Mural by Mario Uribe

Local artist Mario Uribe, along with his assistant Daniel Doughty, Petaluma artist Jennifer Mygatt Tatum and apprentices from the nonprofit Artstart, created this 208-square-foot mural on the back of the wall of the Palms Inn, a 104-unit motel for homeless veterans and the chronically homeless. Wanting to draw attention to homelessness in Sonoma County and the need for more housing, Uribe used pictures of the residents to create composites of smiling people. Together, they form a puzzle in the shape of a house and, at the residents’ request, Uribe also included emblems of the five military branches. 3345 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa

Healing Mural by Mario Uribe

This mural, located in the Roseland neighborhood in southwest Santa Rosa, memorializes one of Sonoma County’s most traumatic events, the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez. The 48-foot-long mural depicts strong and colorful images of Mexican-American culture and day-to-day life, combined with the familiar, now-iconic image of Lopez, a Santa Rosa teenager who was shot by a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy in 2013 as he walked through his Moorland Avenue neighborhood carrying an Airsoft BB gun the deputy reportedly mistook for a real weapon. 779 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa

“Vivir y Disfrutar” by Blanca Molina

Local graphic designer Blanca Molina and her partner created a vibrant mural outside of Sazón Peruvian Restaurant in 2022 that celebrates Peruvina culture with a beautiful landscape, including cactuses, alpacas and a Quechua woman. Molina designed the piece as part of a mile-long Mural Festival in Santa Rosa’s Roeland neighborhood, helmed by MJ Lindo-Lawyer and Joshua Lawyer and featuring works by various other local artists. 1129 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa

HenHouse Mural by Blanca Molina

In 2023, artist Blanca Molina completed a colorful mural inside HenHouse Brewing’s Santa Rosa location, featuring two hens toasting glasses of beer adjacent to a wall that reads, “con cerveza, no hay tristeza,” which Molina said roughly translates to “with beer, there is no sadness.” Molina also created a series of fun beer can labels for HenHouse. 322 Bellevue Ave., Santa Rosa

Tía María Mural by Blanca Molina

Stretching across a wall at Tía María bakery in Santa Rosa’s Roseland neighborhood is one of Blanca Molina’s latest works, completed in spring of 2025. The mural features orange poppies and a bouquet of conchas sprouting from a traditional café de olla on a bright pink background, with overlaying text that reads, “May your cafecitos be strong and your chisme be juicy.” 44 Sebastopol Ave., Santa Rosa

“Raising Rainbows” by Maria de Los Angeles

Installed in early 2023 inside the Santa Rosa Junior College Foundation’s new building, this 7-by-17-foot acrylic mural is a lush floral landscape with symbolic imagery of community, equity, migration and environmental justice. The piece celebrates students, cultural diversity and the mission of education. 707 Elliott Ave., Santa Rosa

Luther Burbank Center for the Arts Murals by Maria de Los Angeles

In August 2023, artist Maria de Los Angeles unveiled two large-scale, vibrantly detailed acrylic murals on the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts campus. “The Muses: A Celebration of a Blossoming Imagination” (19-by-19 feet) honors the performing arts, while “Four Seasons: A Celebration of Community and Environmental Beauty” (8-by-20 feet) evokes nature’s seasonal cycle and communal ties. Around 100 community participants contributed to the murals. 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa

Anova School Mural by The Velvet Bandit

On the grounds of the Anova Center for Education campus in Santa Rosa, The Velvet Bandit created her largest piece yet (40 feet by 8 feet), depicting poppies, daisies and positive word affirmations. The vibrant and inspiring mural was unveiled in July, 2025. Commissioned by Anova CEO Andrew Bailey, who was uplifted by her earlier “rogue art,” this bold public artwork now greets Anova school visitors. 212 Concourse Blvd., Santa Rosa

Windsor

Cali Calmecac Mural by Various Artists

A once-white wall defaced by anti-immigrant graffiti was transformed into a vibrant mural celebrating Latino immigrants’ heritage and culture. Painted by local artists and students from Santa Rosa Junior College, the mural was conceived as an empowering response to vandalism that marred Cali Calmecac’s campus in late October, 2016. In vivid shades of purple, blue, green and other colors, the mural depicts scenes of creation, indigenous dancers, agriculture and students in the classroom. The main artists involved in the mural were Arturo Monroy, Mario Quijas, Emmanuel Morales, Jiovanny Soto and Everardo Flores. 9491 Starr Road, Windsor

Sonoma

Vida de la Muerte by Various Artists

This 15-by-60-foot mural, created by nearly 20 teens and organized by the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, was funded in part by a National Endowment for the Arts grant aimed at supporting public art and artist residency collaborations. Acclaimed street artist Chor Boogie, a.k.a. Joaquin Lamar Hailey, of San Rafael, led the project. Boogie’s murals and artwork have appeared all over the world, including the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the Smithsonian Institute. The colorful mural, featuring bright images of vineyards, Dia de Los Muertos icons, constellations named for animals and more, covers the wall of the Republic of Thrift shop in Boyes Hot Springs. 17496 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma

Glen Ellen

Glen Ellen Murals by Maria de Los Angeles

Commissioned by developers Stephen and Holly Sorkin in collaboration with the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Maria de Los Angeles completed two murals for Glen Ellen in 2021. The colorful murals, titled “Valley of Dreams” and “Galaxy of Hope,” are displayed on two walls of a mixed-use building that includes retail space, the Garden Court Cafe restaurant and an affordable housing project. 13647 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen

Sebastopol

“Teens Go Green” by Dana Lynn Vallarino

This 10-by-20-foot mural brightens up the campus at Brook Haven School in Sebastopol with colorful silhouettes of youth walking, biking, scootering and skateboarding. The mural is the result of a brainstorming session during a weekly Teens Go Green Club meeting. The club encourages students to get themselves to school using environmentally friendly modes of transportation. Sebastopol artist and Brook Haven alumna Dana Vallarino worked with club members to design the mural, even using them as models for the silhouettes. 7905 Valentine Ave., Sebastopol

“The Playground” by Amanda Lynn

A once-blank church wall was transformed into a charming mural evoking “a bit of wonderment for everyone.” Painted in October 2024 by Forestville muralist Amanda Lynn, the mural features local flora, insects and a bluebird. These elements were drawn directly from the church’s 4-acre site at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. The mural reflects Lynn’s joy in creating public art that brings delight to Sebastopol and its community. 500 Robinson Road, Sebastopol 

Healdsburg

Harmon Guest House Murals by Various Artists

Healdsburg’s Harmon Guest House (227 Healdsburg Ave.) has been inviting local artists to bring their talents to the resort since 2021 — with stunning results. The artworks range from sculptures and paintings to dance choreography and abstract nature videos. Here are some of the murals that have gone up at Harmon Guest House:

“Blue Harmon” by Jake Messing: Installed in May of 2022, Messing’s flock of bold blue herons graces the main stairwell at Harmon Guest House. The ascending herons symbolize “self-reliance, determination and good luck,” according to the artist.

“Mistress of Memory / Palimpsest Suites” by Alice Warnecke Sutro: Local artist and winemaker Alice Warnecke Sutro created a mixed-media art project for Harmon Guest House that included a large wall mural at its The Rooftop terrace, as well as etchings on glass shower doors. The mural and shower art featured figurative line drawings of people. The artwork was put on display in June, 2024.

“Mi Healdsburg / My Healdsburg” by Maria de Los Angeles: Unveiled Aug. 23, 2024, this temporary vinyl and glass mural, located at Harmon Guest House, featured a striking central female figure carrying local produce. The nearly 50-f00t-tall piece, designed by artist Maria de Los Angeles, was created via community workshops and funded by a $19,000 public art grant with the purpose of attracting and welcoming more people to the hotel and surrounding community.

Cloverdale

“The Way of the Community Mural Project” by Blanca Molina, Nico Kimzin and others

With input from Cloverdale Latino youth, La Familia Sana — a nonprofit benefiting underserved people — partnered with Kimzin Creative to create a mural that represented various aspects of Latino culture. The Cloverdale mural reads “Saludos from Cloverdale” and includes lowriders, a quinceañera and a large cactus. It serves to include and uplift Cloverdale’s Hispanic community. 201 N. Cloverdale Blvd., Suite B, Cloverdale

Andrew Beale, Alexandria Bordas, Mary Callahan, Sofia Englund, Martin Espinoza, Ricardo Ibarra, Mayra Lopez, Derek Moore, J.D. Morris, Angela Ramirez, Eloísa Ruano González, Lorna Sheridan, Chris Smith and Mary Jo Winter contributed to this article, originally published in 2020 and since updated. For more information about local murals and street artists, visit Artstart, Creative Sonoma and Santa Rosa Urban Art Partnership.

The post Over 25 Amazing Sonoma County Murals and Where to Find Them appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Blanca Molina sits in Tía María bakery in Santa Rosa’s Roseland neighborhood, studying her latest project on her iPad. At a table behind her, two women chat over cups of coffee, their conversation framed by a bright pink backdrop adorned with pops of orange florals and a bouquet of conchas sprouting from a café de olla that reads, “May your cafecitos be strong and your chisme be juicy.”

“Chisme means gossip,” explains Molina of the mural she created for the bakery this spring — one that might make you ponder: Does life imitate art, or does art imitate life?

For Molina, that philosophical question matters less than creating something that brings a smile to someone’s face. “Spreading joy and happiness with my art has always been my number one goal,” she says.

And she succeeds. Her creations are vibrant, bold, and lush. Describing herself as a “Latina maximalist,” Molina embraces a “more is more” approach. “I always want to add more pops of color, more movement. Make it busy, but clean. Organized chaos, I guess,” she explains.

At its core, Molina’s art represents a yearning to capture the life her family left behind when they immigrated to California from Jalisco, Mexico, when she was 5 years old. “I kind of missed out on my culture by not being over there, so the only way I could connect to it is by drawing things that are important to the Mexican culture,” she says.

Molina is especially drawn to pink and orange hues, colors significant to Día de los Muertos, which also happens to be her busiest time of year. She recently completed a Día de los Muertos project for Lush Cosmetics, creating packaging that will be released this autumn.

The imagery of sugar skulls and brujas (witches) — inspired by the holiday — features prominently in her artwork and has brought her considerable attention. But her work also incorporates American influences. “I grew up here, so I do use a lot of Spanglish,” she says of her designs.

After her family settled in Napa, Molina, her parents, and her two siblings moved to a property in Alexander Valley where her father managed a vineyard. She worked at the nearby Jimtown Store during college and credits the store’s owner at the time, Carrie Brown, with influencing her artistic approach. “She’s very colorful in her way of putting foods together. It influenced my art down the line,” Molina recalls.

A career graphic designer, Molina learned early on, while a student at Healdsburg High School, that creativity can be a powerful tool for tackling tough topics. “Sometimes, the topics weren’t even that interesting to me, but I knew I had to do a poster and the poster made me more excited about it.” Some teachers even complimented her ability to make “boring” subjects more engaging.

Even now, with her use of vivid colors and joyful artwork, she manages to broach subjects like immigration, feminism, and self-actualization with a sense of humor —  albeit with a subversive spin, but only in the nicest way possible. “I don’t like to say negative things, I like to spread positivity,” she says of her images with messages like “The immigration community is beautiful” and “The future is female.”

Molina’s message of joy and positivity flourishes for all to see in her artwork. Her murals, largely concentrated in the Roseland neighborhood, are public-facing art. In addition to the one at Tía María, another at nearby HenHouse Brewing reads, “con cerveza, no hay tristeza.” Molina says, “It sounds better in Spanish,” but translates it roughly to “with beer, there is no sadness.”

Her first design, “vivir y disfrutar,” painted in 2022 on the side of Sazón Peruvian restaurant, means simply to “live and enjoy life” — a reminder, perhaps, to the sometimes harried drivers on busy Sebastopol Road to slow down and take it easy.

Her newest mural design, debuting this summer, is mobile — a bus in Napa Valley will be fully wrapped in her artwork, incorporating, among other things, vineyards, a vineyard worker, and a woman holding a glass of wine on one side. On the other, orange poppies and the California bear appear — in this iteration, with a pair of monarch butterfly wings. (The bear on the California flag was inspired by a bear named “Monarch,” one of the last California grizzlies in captivity.)

Although all her murals are impressive, none are so precious as to be tucked away in an intimidating gallery or hushed museum. The medium is the message: This is art for everybody.

The mural in Molina’s new hometown, Cloverdale, which was unveiled last year, was a turning point for how she approaches projects. Through a series of meetings organized with Kimzin Creative, community members gave input about meaningful images to include. The themes they selected were incorporated into letters that spell out “Cloverdale” for a 60-foot mural on the side of the Encore Dance Theater on Cloverdale Boulevard.

To create a mural, Molina photographs the wall, then uses its exact dimensions for her design. In her home office, she creates a digital image on a computer with a giant screen that allows her to easily see her more detailed work.

When it’s time to turn virtual into reality, she uses a laptop to project the outline of her design onto the wall, then traces it, quickly, sometimes in chalk, sometimes with paint. For large projects, like the Cloverdale mural, she projects a quadrant at a time, carefully piecing it together.

When it came time to paint the Cloverdale mural, the community got to help — a first for Molina. She describes her work as a “very color-by-numbers kind of style,” which helps on projects where people bring varying degrees of artistic experience or, perhaps, none at all. But just because it’s easy to paint, it doesn’t mean it’s easy to design.

Creating the template, she says, is where the real work lies. “Coming up with something that other people can do, that’s where it gets tricky.” But for her, the work is worth it because that collaboration allows people to experience a deeper connection to the art. “People would go to the flower they painted, and they’ll show their family, ‘Oh, I painted that flower.’”

Now, when a business or organization asks her to create a mural, she encourages them to consider involving others. “If you bring customers in (to help), they’ll become even more loyal customers,” she says. “It’s just a beautiful feeling. It brings more positivity to that business.”

Living so close to the Cloverdale mural, Molina finds a lot of satisfaction seeing people — including city council members — take photos in front of it. “It’s like a warm hug.”

Follow on Instagram @blancacreative. blancacreative.com

Find Molina’s murals, along with murals from other local artists, scattered all around Sonoma County.

The post Maximalist Muralist Blanca Molina Spreads Color and Joy Throughout Sonoma County appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.