During his career as a prominent artist in Santa Barbara, leaving a lasting legacy through his works of art throughout the city, Channing Peake attended and taught at the Santa Barbara  School of the Arts and was one of the founding members of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Renowned for fusing modernist technique with California’s Spanish roots (with a particular interest in Spanish-gothic design), Peake created Fiesta as a 60-foot, sweeping tribute to Santa Barbara’s vibrant traditions and early Spanish culture. Installed in the airport’s terminal in 2011, the mural bursts with celebratory energy, setting a dynamic tone for travelers arriving in The American Riviera®.

A vivid burst of color tucked in an alley beside the Granada Theatre, this collaborative piece by internationally recognized 3D street art virtuoso Tracy Lee Stum and award-winning Indian visual artist Sayak Mitra blends surrealism and symbolism. The mural feels like a portal — pulling viewers into a dreamlike interpretation of culture, performance and imagination.

Painted by famed Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros while exiled in the U.S., this politically charged fresco was initially hidden from view, untouched and uncriticized like much of his other work, as it was originally painted for the Pacific Palisades home of filmmaker Dudley Murphy in 1932. It was eventually donated to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in 2001. Today, it stands as a powerful piece of social commentary — offering a rare glimpse into the artist’s revolutionary lens on art and justice through the lens of U.S.-Mexico relations.

Inside the Santa Barbara Public Library’s quiet lobby, Channing Peake and Howard Warshaw’s Don Quixote mural reimagines Miguel de Cervantes’ beloved 17th-century character in vivid, gestural forms. The piece captures both whimsy and gravitas while highlighting Santa Barbara’s Spanish architecture and history. By blending their two artistic styles for this piece, Peake and Warshaw use cubism to craft a mural so visually complex that it can be interpreted from various perspectives.

Stepping into the Mural Room inside the Santa Barbara County Courthouse feels like entering a technicolor history book. Daniel Sayre Groesbeck’s sweeping panoramas, rendered in hyper-realistic detail, mythologize Santa Barbara’s early Californian and Spanish colonial narratives and reach nearly the full height of the walls. The Mural Room boasts rows of wooden pews perfect for admiring the grand work of art and is an incredibly popular location for wedding ceremonies.

Photo credit: Melinda Mettler

A fresh addition to the city’s mural landscape, DJ Javier’s Year of the Dragon breathes fire into tradition with his signature blend of Filipino heritage, skate culture and bold contemporary linework. Javier, a Santa Barbara local, is a well-known and celebrated muralist with a portfolio spanning beyond Santa Barbara County. The larger-than-life piece, located in El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park (formally a neighborhood that attracted Chinese and Japanese immigrants, post-Spanish period) celebrates strength, identity and transformation with the use of vibrant colors and abstract artistry.

A patchwork of stories from Santa Barbara’s Eastside community that took over seven months to complete, this mural reflects the shared vision of celebrated international muralist Manuel Unzueta and local teens from the Santa Barbara Arts Alliance. Each section adorning the side of the Eastside Library weaves personal and cultural identity into a collective portrait with an overarching message to children and their families to embrace their local libraries as a source of empowerment.

Anchoring the Funk Zone, outside of the SeaVees outpost — with an edge of cool nostalgia — DJ Javier’s coastal-inspired mural nods to vintage postcards and streetwear sensibilities. With crisp lines and a laid-back message, it’s a love letter to Santa Barbara — sun-drenched and effortlessly stylish.

Photo credit: Blake Bronstad

Located in the Funk Zone, Santa Barbara 3.0 is a large-scale mural created through a collaboration between Youth Interactive and artists Colette Cosentino and Nathalie Gensac. The artwork blends iconic Santa Barbara imagery — such as the Mission and coastal landscape — with a contemporary figure actively painting the scene, possibly symbolizing creativity in motion. The mural reflects the evolving identity of the neighborhood and the role of public art in community engagement.

Whimsical yet sophisticated, California Garden reflects Brad Nack’s signature imaginative aesthetic. The mural is a painterly celebration of native flora, sunshine and stylized fauna — like a surrealist garden party that adds to Santa Barbara’s already playful Funk Zone neighborhood.