Official Russ Solomon Mural Tribute

Russ Solomon touched the lives of so many people - in our community, and all over the world.  To honor his memory, Bryan Valenzuela, working with Wide Open Walls creator, David Sobon, are creating a lasting tribute to the Tower Records founder and Sacramento icon.

Valenzuela seeks to use the blank walls at the back of the Tower Theater to draw a large scale portrait.  While most of his drawing projects utilize words written by him that are specific to each piece, Valenzuela wants to source all the text for this portrait from the many communities that knew and loved Russ.  He wants to gather quotes from family, friends, co-workers, and even strangers on how Russ touched ther lives with the things he chose to do with his life.   A tribute built from the love a community, that he built through the joy of music.

*For over a decade, Northern California artist, Bryan Valenzuela has been aiming to perfect a drawing techique involving the atomization of the figure through handwritten text.  Words varying in size from the miniscule and unreadable, to large and bold are used in a manner similar to crosshatching.  Layer upon layer, the words create both shading and a conversation with the image.  Though virtually unnoticeable from afar, once the viewer steps closer to each work, they are engulfed in a symphony of words intermingled with other mixed media elements.  http://www.bryanvalenzuela.com