Photos by Angel Monteagudo
Artist Basic Lee begins work on a new graffiti art piece during a live demonstration Feb. 9 outside Sol Treasures in King City.
KING CITY — A new art exhibit decorates both inside and outside of Sol Treasures in King City, and artists recently gathered to talk about the inspiration behind their different pieces.
Gallery and Gift Shop Manager Angel Monteagudo came up with the idea for the “Street Art” exhibit because he has always liked graffiti art.
“I just noticed that in King City we only look at graffiti as graffiti and vandalism,” Monteagudo said. “So I wanted to show another side of graffiti. When you go to big cities and see all these different famous artists that people are tearing down the walls to put in exhibitions, I wanted to show that side of artistry.”
The Street Art exhibit includes the works of Regina Garcia, Juan Carlos, Mike Garcia and Andrew Hernandez. Live art demonstrations were held Feb. 9 for the community to see their work.
“My original artwork is like surrealism and historical fiction mixed together,” Regina Garcia said. “My paintings and original artwork is like comic book art and pop art.”
Regina Garcia is a writer and illustrator from King City who self-publishes her own books. Her works include “Jupiter by the Sea,” a poetry book, as well as a gratitude journal and a food journal with positive affirmations.
King City resident and artist Andrew Hernandez describes his art as street art using spray paint and stencils for certain shapes and shows the different effects of spray paint. He also uses paintbrushes to give a more graffiti feel to his work.
“This type of art I picked up because of other artists,” Hernandez said. “They really inspired me to show what’s in my mind for sceneries.”
Hernandez enjoys creating art that reflects outer space and things that aren’t natural or different universes.
Going for a more abstract take on his art, Mike Garcia, who is originally from Salinas but moved down to King City a few years ago, started sketching in elementary school, which led to taking art classes.
“It just kind of evolved into me just painting on canvas and really just letting loose with my style,” he said. “I really don’t have any boundaries when it comes to painting.”
