Bud Snow’s new mural brings art to local architecture
Some people look at a building and see a wall. Those like artist Bud Snow see a canvas.
Such was the case with Snow’s latest mural, a 45-foot work overlooking Highway 12 at South Park Commons, an affordable-housing development at 702 Bennett Valley Rd. in Santa Rosa that includes supportive housing for individuals and families who have experienced homelessness.
Completed earlier this year, the mural has been doing what public art does best: becoming part of the landscape while quietly beautifying it.
This work transforms what Snow describes as a relatively standard building into a prominent visual landmark. More importantly, it emerged from eight months of conversations with residents, neighbors, community advocates and project partners. The resulting imagery incorporates symbols inspired by the surrounding neighborhood and ideas gathered during that process.
The stylized composition resolves into several images at once: two birds gathered at a fountain, the broad wings of a butterfly and the head of a dolphin. It is a suitably shape-shifting image for a place associated with transition and change.
“Art changes how we see a space. This mural is about identity and ownership,” said Snow in a statement shared with the Bohemian.
That notion carries particular weight at a supportive-housing site. Buildings intended to provide stability are often designed primarily around utility, which is understandable but can leave them visually anonymous. Snow’s mural makes the opposite argument: that a place of transition need not look temporary, institutional or unseen. It can announce the presence and humanity of the people who live there.
The mural also marks Snow’s first large-scale public artwork in Santa Rosa since 2018 and continues a relationship with the city that stretches back more than a decade.
His first major Santa Rosa mural, completed in 2013, remains visible above Highway 12. The artist’s regional portfolio also includes a mural behind the Roxy Stadium 14 theater near City Hall, work associated with Perch and Plow and the 888 Fourth Street apartments, and previous collaborations with the Museum of Sonoma County.
Snow’s connections to the area extend beyond walls and paint. He has organized music events at the Arlene Francis Center and worked with artists and cultural organizations throughout Sonoma County.
“This region played a huge role in my career as an artist,” Snow pointed out. “Coming back years later to create a piece centered around dignity, transformation and community care feels incredibly meaningful.”
Like many ambitious public-art projects, this one required more than artistic vision and perhaps a tall ladder. Support came from the Santa Rosa Urban Arts Partnership, Montana Shop Los Angeles, the Flamingo Resort & Spa, Xies Sushi Rolls and Studio B Creative, the Santa Rosa design firm led by Belinda “B” Fernandez.
“We found ourselves with a bit of a funding gap,” noted Snow. “Studio B Creative stepped up to fill it.”
Fernandez framed the contribution as an investment in the city’s cultural and emotional life.
“We need more thought-provoking art here in Santa Rosa. Art has value,” said Fernandez. “It’s life affirming, and our community needs that right now.”
