The 7th annual, and final, Eureka Street Art Festival is set to begin July 29 through Aug. 2 and will feature 18 artists from California, including artists from Humboldt County, who will paint murals throughout the city of Eureka. The festival offers the public an opportunity to watch the creation of large-scale pieces of world-class art and interact with artists through artist talks and daily tours.
Since 2018, the Eureka Street Art Festival has added over 100 new murals to Eureka. This year, the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center will be a part of the festival.
Diaz began his artistry at an early age when he began drawing and illustrating. Later, at Cal Poly Humboldt, he learned printmaking, painting, and graphic design. He had a freeing experience as a student at Humboldt, where he found beautiful friendships, had great adventures, and honed his artistic abilities.
“Going to Humboldt really crafted me. I didn’t know what I was doing in painting—I was just trying to mix drawings with painting and mixed media, but I learned in class and realized how easy it was to transfer my illustrations to work and walls and understand the use of color better with paint,” Diaz says. “I also just enjoyed the people, and, you know, found beautiful friendships. And I had such great adventures and times here, that's all built from coming to school. I wouldn't change it again at all. It's great.”
Since graduating from Humboldt, Diaz continued to draw and has painted numerous murals throughout the country and New Zealand. He also previously created a mural for the Eureka Street Art Festival in 2019, 2021, and 2023. Murals, he says, are one of his favorite creations. His art features bold colors and unique realms and realities with mythology, folklore, and stories.
“The best part about painting murals is the problem-solving. They’re not the easiest to do. It puts your brain in a whole different area. A lot of people just think you walk up and you start painting, and that's not it. There are so many different aspects and so many different things artists need to calculate such as picking the right colors and being precise,” Diaz says. “The bigger the mural the bigger the feat, that’s why they mean the most to me.”
To view a full list of all the artists painting murals at the 7th annual Eureka Art Festival and a map of where you can find each one, visit www.eurekastreetartfestival.com/2024.
