Villa Alamitos

Art Mortimer

Painted on 3 sides of a free-standing, 2-story building, this mural of trompe l’oeil architecture transforms this plain building into an elegant addition to the neighborhood. The building owner was preparing to open The Museum of Latin American Art across the street from this building, in a somewhat shabby part of downtown Long Beach, and wanted to do something to improve the neighborhood. The building is painted in the style of a Latin American villa, with ornate painted moldings, fake windows and doors, a painted stairway, and painted doors opening onto a painted inner courtyard. Existing windows are integrated into the design, along with painted matching windows and other details used to help provide symmetry and balance to the overall look of the painted architectural illusion. Trees and bushes are painted around the base of the building to help the visual transition from reality to illusion.