Home for the summer Kaylie has taken on the task of painting murals.
by Richard Lieberman
The City of Ventura Public Art Program’s Streetscape Mural Project is a sidewalk and street corner showcase for talented local artists and community members to transform traffic signal utility boxes into new public art. Since 2007 artists have painted over 30 boxes with designs that will beautify street corners and aid in minimizing graffiti. Artists, students, schools, and community organizations have made for a better pedestrian experience on Ventura Streets by participating in the City of Ventura’s “Think Outside the Box” program. The program was designed and initiated in 2007 to transform designated street utility boxes into public works of art.
Born and raised in Ventura local artist Kaylie Pendleton is currently a college junior at the Northwest College of Arts in Portland, Oregon. Home for the summer she has taken on the task of painting murals on two traffic signal utility boxes located at the corner of Day Street and Telegraph Roads. Kaylie won the “Mayors Art Award” in 2017 and has worked on the 2019 “Irish Belle” for the Saint Patrick’s Day parade. “I have always been interested in art I love drawing people, flowers, doing magazine illustration, and fashion design,” she said. Painting the murals will take about one or two weeks she added.
Kaylie is a survivor of Retinoblastoma (a cancer affecting the retina which may be caused by genetic mutation though the exact cause is still unknown). In 2019 Kaylie had her mural design selected by Loma Vista Elementary School and installed in 2019, she is also the recipient of the 2021 Ventura County Community Foundation Vivian Klemz Scholarship.
“I have grown up in Ventura, so I have always seen these (traffic signal utility boxes) and saw which ones I liked a lot and since I went to college, we were able to pick our own project and I was able to design this for class and here we are,” Kaylie added. The City of Ventura’s Public Art Program supplies the material to accomplish the task. “I had to fundraise, and Ventura residents were able to donate and get me the supplies I needed, through the cities Public Arts Program,” said Pendleton. “I have been focused on drawing and illustration for around six years now so I am studying illustration and graphic design and I hope people can see that in my work.”
Kaylie is looking forward to returning to Portland this fall as a senior and has also been accepted into a study abroad program this fall in England “I love Portland overall, a great vibe for illustration and graphic design” she said.
Kaylie will graduate with a BA in illustration in May, 2022.
