2009 Art Gallery Mural Project

This 11 x 18 foot mural is designed for the exterior wall of the Skyline Art Gallery that faces Parking Lot E. The mural consists of nine panels, each depicting a detail of a textile taken from some of the many cultures representing the diverse background of the Skyline College community. From left to right, the panels depict textile designs from: Japan, China, Western Europe, Indonesia, Africa, Middle East, Philippines, Mexico, Peru (pre-Colombian). The mural was designed by Skyline College Art Professor Paul Bridenbaugh, and painted by Bridenbaugh and a team of Skyline College Art students during the 2009 Spring Semester. This project was supported by a President's Innovation Fund Grant.

Many people worked hard to bring this project to fruition, but we would especially like to thank the following mural painters for their efforts: Anna Bartosz, Celso Cabauatan, LaShun Dean, Juan Diaz, Teena Makapugay, Marilyn Moran, Nadine Morey, Samantha Pena, Gisela Rabdau, Neil Samuth, Sharon Singletary, Gwenda Tuika, Anna Marie-Vargas, Greg Wallace, Frances Winn.

the finished mural featuring colorful textile designs from a range of countries across the world

Mural Progress

March 10

empty concrete wall with ladder before mural

March 10

far shot of empty concrete wall before mural

March 12

two artists sketch out the beginning of the mural on the wall

March 12

the mural is beginning to take shape, with a few columns painted in orange and blue

March 17

an artist paints one end of the mural, with more columns of art having appeared since the last shot

March 19

a far-away shot of the in-progress mural and banner over the art gallery door

March 24

artists stand in front of the almost-completed mural

March 24

the artists pose in front of the almost-completed mural

March 24

far view of the mural

March 26

an artist puts final touches on the bottom of the mural

Artists with the Finished Mural

a row of artists stand in front of the finished mural

Ribbon Cutting

a ribbon is cut to formally introduce the mural to the college

Stephen Namara

Stephen Namara
Paintings and Drawings

Exhibition: January 24 - February 28, 2009

"In regards to my work, I am trying to create atmospheres. I am, perhaps, not so much interested in the questions of details but on the way that the light is absorbed or reflected by the surface. I employ the tension of light and shadow to heighten the suggestion of spiritual qualities, much like the Spanish Realists of the seventeenth century. And always I am trying to reflect the present. For the present contains the memory of the past, even though the painting is the result of an extensive span."

Stephen Namara was born in 1953 in Kenya. In 1974 he came to the United States and entered the University of Missouri where he studied Architecture and Engineering. In his third year he decided to become an artist. He currently resides in San Francisco, CA.

flyer for exhibit
art gallery walls featuring various paintings and drawings by Stephen Namara Oil painting of a yellow pear in a silver bowl, set on a white desk with an open drawer on a dark green backdrop

Pear in a Bowl, Oil on Wood Panel, 36 x 80"

oil painting of a boat with oars sailing through a white cloud

Exodus, Oil on Canvas, 78 x 84" 2009

Oil painting of two yellow pears on a white clothed table against a black backdrop

Two Pears, Oil on Canvas, 36 x 36"

Gallery visitors in front of the Exodus painting
Drawing of a naked person with their arms clasped around their knees
Gallery visitors stand in front of the drawings on the wall
a wall of the gallery with three Namara paintings and drawings