Painter Miguel Gonzalez takes on school logo project in Apple Valley
Days before Christmas, Miguel Gonzalez spent a chilly afternoon in Apple Valley, where he meticulously painted an excited roadrunner carrying a school book.
“This logo represents Rancho Verde Elementary School in Apple Valley,” Gonzalez, 65, told the Daily Press as he stood near several cans of colorful paint and a variety of small paintbrushes. “After this one, I have two more logos to complete.”
Gonzalez’s outdoor canvas was the brick exterior of the Apple Valley Unified School District main office campus, which sits along Navajo Road just north of Bear Valley Road.
One logo included an orange and white “AV” with Sun Devil horns and a tail for Apple Valley Valley High School.
Also, a howling black wolf on a red shield logo for Sandia Academy elementary school.
As the owner of MG Arts and Signs in Apple Valley, Gonzalez started the logo project nearly two months ago and has completed seven school logos on one large wall and five additional on the wall of an adjacent building.
The project also includes a full wall with the AVUSD logo and another wall with text that summarizes the mission and purpose of the school district.
Each logo and text look as though they had been stamped onto the brick surface, but after watching Gonzalez’s work, it was apparent that everything he had created was done freehand.
“It takes me about two days to complete one logo,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a lot of fine work with small brushes. It also helps when the wind is not blowing.”
Decades of honing his craft have resulted in Gonzalez mastering his brushes, paint textures, a steady hand, and a keen eye for detail.
“I was very young when I got a job cleaning up at a sign shop in Mexico,” Gonzalez said. “When I was 17, I was so fascinated by what the painters were doing that I asked them to teach me their craft. Nearly 50 years later, I’m still doing what I love.”
His company’s work includes banners, wall/window wraps, dimensional letters, monuments, vehicle lettering, lobby signs, plaques, awards, and street signage.
After moving to Pomona in 1986, Gonzalez continued to display his artistic talents through his business and with projects throughout Southern California.
“Before we moved to the High Desert, I did a lot of work for the Anaheim School District,” Gonzalez said. “I made the paper for a project at the Kress 5-10-25 cent store building in Long Beach.”
Constructed in 1925, the iconic Kress Building on Pine Avenue in Long Beach was the 152nd store in the former Memphis-based Kress & Company empire, according to the Long Beach Post.
The Kress high-rise remained vacant between 1981 and 1992 until developers transformed the building into loft apartments and two retail spaces.
The restoration included repainting a wall sign advertising the Kress Five-Cent and Ten-Cent Store and a new wall sign, in a typeface emulating the other, promoting the new Kress Lofts.
Gonzalez has completed work for hundreds of clients in the High Desert, including the San Bernardino County Fire Department, Arizona Pipeline, Hesperia Estates, Victorville United Methodist Church, Crown Medical Center, and Fort Irwin.
“I opened my shop here in Apple Valley about five years ago, and I love being here,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a safer atmosphere than where I came from, the weather is great, and the people are wonderful.”
For more information on Miguel Gonzalez and his portfolio of work. visit mgartsigns.com.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Painter Miguel Gonzalez takes on school logo project in Apple Valley
