Art On Wheels, the Branding of Watsonville Grows

The guys who brought you the are going mobile, with skate decks and the raffling of an adult trike to benefit youth art programs.

“This whole positive thing that we’re trying to do, this is another step forward in that," said Paul De Worken, who is working on the project with friend Jaime Sanchez.

The artists operate . Earlier this year, they launched a line of casual tops aimed at rebranding Watsonville in a positive way. The simple design, inspired by the old San Francisco Warriors' "the City" jerseys, features the gazebo in the City Plaza or a strawberry inside a circle. "the Ville" is scrawled along to top arc.

People love the tanks, shirts and hoodies. De Worken's Facebook page, under the name Monterey Bay Murals, is filled with photos of people modeling the attire.

So the guys are taking it to another level. They've been stenciling skate decks with the "the Ville" design ($50 each) and are amped to get coffee mugs out there. Girly versions of the Ts and sweatshirts are on the way also, with pink ink on black fabric.

But the big project over the past month they rebuilt an adult trike that had been laying around De Worken's house. It's been repainted black and stenciled in white with "The Ville" on the tubes and the circle strawberry design on the front.

“It’s a one of a kind," De Worken said.

Originally, the trike was red and De Worken's mom was going to ride it to work. She'd prefer a different type of bike and no one was using the old trike, so De Worken repurposed it into what will amount to a big fundraiser for the school art projects facilitated by Monterey Bay Murals.

“We’re going to raffle off dollar tickets for it to thank to community for all of its support," De Worken said.

The Strawberry Festival will be Aug. 4-5 in downtown Watsonville.

All of the trike raffle funds will go to mural projects at and schools, which De Worken said are planned but need financial support. Mural projects are where a lot of the "the Ville" T-shirt proceeds end up as well.

The guys have said they believe art, especially public art, can unite the community and give youth a positive outlet.

"We think that’s going to have a direct return on us because we live here, so that’s going to improve the quality of life. It’s going to stimulate the young minds so they can get inspired by it," .

The raffle will take place at the end of the Strawberry Festival.