Santa Paula Murals #5

Santa Paula Artists and Architects
136 North 10th Street
Wei Luan, muralist, c. 2004

I'm grateful to the Santa Paula Murals site for this background information about this mural.

Since the 1890s, Santa Paula has been home to many talented artists and architects whose works and presence have enriched not only our community, but the state and nation as well. Among the outstanding artists, are Jessie Arms Botke and her husband Cornelis Botke, whose works are featured in the Smithsonian. Jessie became known as a “decorative painter” who concentrated on exotic bird paintings with gold leaf applications, whereas Cornelis, an accomplished oil painter and etcher, focused on landscapes and still lifes. The two artists collaborated on several murals as well.

Contemporaries of the Botkes were Douglas Shively, who specialized in local landscapes and became fondly known as “Mr. Sycamore.” Robert Clunie, also a plein air painter, became known for his paintings of the Sierras where he would travel and set up his easel in the rugged backcountry near Bishop where he eventually retired. Photographer Horace Bristol attained national recognition for his Depression era photos where he worked for Life Magazine documenting the conditions of migrant workers along with John Steinbeck.

Santa Paula’s first architect/builder was Herman Anlauf who designed the landmark Faulkner House in 1894 with Franklin Ward. The first licensed architect to come to Santa Paula in the teens was Roy C. Wilson, whose firm spanned over fifty years and was the most prolific in Ventura County. Many architects got their start here including Robert Raymond and John Stroh. Raymond became best known for the Masonic Lodge built in 1930 and John Stroh for his design of St. Sebastian’s Church in 1951.