Reporting by Ema Sasic, Palm Springs Desert Sun
It’s too early to see a wildflower superbloom in the Palm Springs area this month, but three new floral murals are bringing plenty of color to the city’s downtown in the meantime.
Taking over the usually drab, grey walls of the South Downtown Palm Springs parking structure at the intersection of Belardo Road and West Tahquitz Canyon Way are three murals inspired by local wildflowers.
One wall features purple desert sand-verbena, one displays poppies, aka California’s official state flower, and the third is dedicated to golden desert sunflowers. Standing several feet tall, the murals can be see from the Palm Springs Art Museum and join plenty of other public art works in the area, such as the Forever Marilyn statue and a mural dedicated to American poet Amanda Gorman.
The murals were created by Alexis Palomino and Chris Ramirez, co-founders of the Palm Springs-based contemporary art and color company Superbloom. Together with around 150 volunteers, the wildflower-inspired murals took shape during two community events on Oct. 20.
The project was supported by Blue Zones Project Palm Springs’ Built Environment Initiative, as well as the Palm Springs Department of Parks and Recreation and the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission.
“We really felt that we needed to add a little more color to downtown Palm Springs,” Palomino said, adding that they proposed the idea of a mural after walking past the parking garage space frequently.
A deeper look at Superbloom
The two co-founders are all about color and flowers. Each letter of their company’s name has a color and meaning associated with it (for example, S stands for self-loving and is represented by the color lilac, and U stands for unique and is represented by the color orange), and the name itself is inspired by the natural wildflower phenomenon that occasionally blooms in the springtime.
When it came to picking out the flowers they wanted on the mural, they chose species that are natural to the desert landscape, with the purple and yellow florals typically seen growing on the side of roads or across fields.
But more than just sprucing up the parking structure area, Ramirez said bringing the community together to make the murals made the project even more special.
“The lasting effects of this project was to get the community out, and the mural was almost a vessel to get community engagement,” he said. “Art really brings a really beautiful energy to cities, it gets people together, it makes cities feel a bit safer, happier, healthier and brings more belonging and connection. (Volunteers) were able to paint leaves and flowers, and so whenever they walk by now, they can say, ‘I painted that flower.’”
Palomino and Ramirez are still putting the final touches on the mural, which they hope to complete this month, and they said they welcome community participation if people stop by and see them working.
Their goal is to paint a fourth wall at the parking structure by the end of the year, and they are currently raising funds for additional supplies.
Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com, on X @ema_sasic or on Instagram @emasasic.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun.
Related: Why this Palm Springs-area Denny’s didn’t hesitate to host a punk show
