June 24, 2017

The “Tending the Vineyard” mural marks the growth of the wine industry in the area and highlights the contributions of the Hispanic Community with the portrait of the Hispanic vintner, Alfimedo Martinez.

From the many vineyards to choose from, the artists painted a composite of several, featuring the ever-popular local hiking destination, Mt. Woodson, in the background to distinguish its location.

Artist – Miguel Angel Godoy, born in El Centro, California, as a child traveled across the country and into Europe with his father who was in the Army. His passion for art was established early, from watching his father sketch to witnessing graffiti on trains and on the Berlin Wall in Germany. Determined to further his education and learn more about art, he earned a Bachelor’s in Fine Art from Columbus State University in Columbus, GA. Shortly thereafter, he moved back to his home state of California to pursue his passion for art in San Diego. Miguel has painted portraits, abstract and figurative paintings, and small to large scale public art works.

Artist – Saratoga Sake, who also painted the Ramona “1938 Turkey Day Queen” and “Midget Car Race” murals, began his art career with inspiration from New York City’s subway graffiti. In 1982, he became one of the first graffiti artists in California. Sake’s reputation as a serious artist grew out of respect for his technical skill, creating his first portrait with spray painting in 1986. In 1991 he won two Emmy awards for his spray paint work for the FOX network. He recently had a mural in the San Diego Museum of Art that was displayed for three years. He has been featured in numerous magazines, TV appearances and newspapers around the globe. He was recently featured in two books, History of American Graffiti and Skullface. The artist currently lives in East County with his two children and wife Chef Stacey Poon-Kinney Star of Food Network.