Hiking group with Joe Pagac (photo by Kathy Minx)
Kathy Minx
Seven SaddleBrooke hikers undertook a great mural walk in Tucson on May 19. The group included Jennifer Shafer, Dianne Monza, Lori Anderson, Kathy Jensen, Linda Linegar, Cathy Monroe, and leader Kathy Minx. They headed downtown at 7:30 a.m. to view more than 50 murals, followed by lunch at The Cup Café.
While walking along 6th Avenue, they spotted the scaffolding for famed muralist Joe Pagac who was working on a new mural at the CBD Dispensary. They detoured from the usual tour path to see if he was there, and they were in luck!
Tucson Guide magazine noted that Joe Pagac is a native Tucsonan. He has been painting murals in Tucson for 14 years and has painted some of the Old Pueblo’s most famous murals. After studying and traveling the world, Pagac still takes his inspiration from the Sonoran Desert but enjoys keeping his art a little surreal and whimsical.
“When you’re a muralist, every wall is a good spot for a mural,” Pagac said. Epic Rides, one of Pagac’s most famous Tucson murals, features desert critters and a woman riding a bike whose dress flows into a crimson and apricot colored desert, while her dark hair absorbs into the night sky. Epic Rides was fully funded by the Tucson community through a Kickstarter campaign that raised $21,616 from 302 Tucsonans in 24 days—well over Pagac’s $18,000 goal.
Joe Pagac’s Epic Ride mural is a 4,000-square-foot bicycle mural on the side of the building at Stone and 6th Street in Tucson.
While there are many rewards of painting a giant mural that will greet visitors and offer a warm hello to locals, Pagac said it’s the sense of fulfillment that stands out the most.