A mural celebrating Marin’s landscape and history of conservation is planned in San Anselmo. The town Arts Commission heard a presentation on the project at a meeting on Monday. Designed by Berkeley artist Wyn di Stefano, the mural will be located on the east wall of the commercial building at 1608 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
, on the border with Fairfax. The $16,000 project will be funded by the town. “My design is based on photos that I have taken walking through the hills of San Anselmo and the wetlands around Limantour Beach,” Di Stefano said.
“The concept is a direct response and celebration of the West Marin landscape.” The town has sought to enliven and beautify the location in order to create a welcoming visual experience. The one-story wall is a combination of stucco and concrete block visible to those traveling west along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.
Recreation Manager Mattie O’Grady said there were 42 submissions for the project. Submissions were reviewed by a selection panel consisting of three Arts Commission members, the property owner and a staff member. Di Stefano said the work will begin in August and last until September.
The design includes native flowers and trees, including coast live oaks seen in San Anselmo and Fairfax. The mural transitions into a floral scene that includes bush monkey flower, Pacific poison oak, California poppies and honey bees. “I want this mural to celebrate the landscape that makes Marin such a beautiful sanctuary, but also to remind the public of the responsibility we have to protect and conserve the land for future generations to come,” he said.
Di Stefano plans to pressure-wash the wall before sketching with paint. He said the final design will be rich and saturated with color, and include four coats of an anti-graffiti clear coat. Mayor Eileen Burke called the project “exciting.
” “The mural is incredibly beautiful and I’m proud to be mayor of a town with a focus on public art,” Burke said. Nish Nadaraja, a member of the Arts Commission, said a party is planned in September to celebrate the mural. “We were thrilled to come across Wyn’s work and it’s been wonderful to see his vision of Marin’s natural beauty expressed in such a larger-than-life way,” Nadaraja said.
“We see murals as a public extension and visual representation of our community. They transform spaces, turning ordinary walls into something extraordinary.” O’Grady noted that the project is the culmination of years of work.
She said guidelines to allow for more public art were unanimously approved by the Town Council in September 2023. “This project is hugely significant as the first mural project in San Anselmo and will pave the way for the transformation of more public spaces,” she said..
