Arts Los Altos’ 15th public art installation, a mural entitled Senderos Nuestros (Our Trails), adorns the back of the building housing Red Berry Coffee Bar. It can be viewed from the Plaza South parking alley and can also be seen from San Antonio Road. The mural was designed and painted by Oakland based painter, muralist and sculptor, Fernanda Martinez. Martinez was selected for this project because of her bold, abstract style that complements the Arts Los Altos mural, La Cosecha (The Harvest), which enlivens the Tal Palo restaurant patio close by.

Fernanda Martinez was born and raised in Mexico City and moved to the Bay Area in 2015 where she founded her company, La Tinta Art. She is a self-taught artist who has always loved bold color, flowing design and abstract organic shapes. Martinez began her artistic career by selling her designs to retail companies such as Anthropologie for seasonal promotional merchandise like stationery, t-shirts and tote bags. She began to receive commissions and has installations at Meta, Google, Unity and Sweetgreen as well as at other Bay Area public and private venues.

The first step toward obtaining a public art commission is the creation of a design proposal that can be submitted for consideration. Martinez spent time observing the flowers and trees of Los Altos to create an impressive prototype strongly influenced by nature. The mural’s dynamic design with patches of both vivid and muted colors suggests local flora and seasonal change.

The mural painting commenced on August 19, 2024. Martinez first freehand sketched all mural shapes onto the newly painted white walls. Then, she and her helper, Darin Balaban, also a Bay Area muralist, began filling in the shapes using house paint applied with rollers and brushes. They used a boom lift to reach the rooftop and had to use extenders to reach difficult spots. Visitors to the mural will appreciate how difficult it was to paint while standing in the blazing sun on a steeply slanted roof while holding a brush extender.