ArtBox: Paintbrushes & Goldfields

Intersection of Quito Road & Bucknall Drive, SAN JOSÉ, CA
sponsored by Phantom Galleries

This is my third commission through the ArtBox project that I’ve painted in this stained glass look; my other two being ArtBox: The Illuminated Iris and ArtBox: Jellyfish Float. This set is at Quito & Bucknall in the West Valley neighborhood, one long block away from the business area around Saratoga Ave & Lawrence Expressway in San José. The neighborhood association commissioned an ArtBox with a theme of “Santa Cruz Mountain wildflowers”.

I researched Santa Cruz wildflowers and quickly realized I needed to narrow it down based on color. There’s a Japanese maple in the yard behind these boxes, so I opted for red flowers facing the road coming into the neighborhood. In the Google Maps images I referenced for this location, there was also a tree with striking yellow foliage (the images must have been taken in the fall) so I picked yellow for the sides that would be approached while leaving the neighborhood.