Rodeo President Brent Eastman had a unique idea for the 2018 California Rodeo Salinas’ commemorative poster. Having a tie to local artist John Cerney, Brent thought it would be fun to commission John to create a unique mural for the California Rodeo Salinas that could be highlighted on the annual poster. It was quite an undertaking, but the Rodeo’s team, including the President, Marketing staff and Designer Tracy Hopper of Hopperopolis, and John were able to collaborate and create a traditional rodeo poster out of the larger than life artwork that John painted. The poster features a small crowd gathered near a bucking horse and rider, from a photo taken by Richard Field Levine, and fence. The original mural will be placed just south of the North Main Street exit on Highway 101; this will be a year-round marketing piece that really denotes the Rodeo as Salinas’ marquis event. The California Rodeo has worked with John in the past to create large murals of our Past Presidents Sam Eastman and Doc Etienne that you may have seen around Salinas and we are thrilled to partner again on this piece.
John Cerney was born in Carmel and grew up in Salinas. He worked in the produce industry before studying art at the College of San Mateo and then California State University, Long Beach. He became self-employed as an artist in 1985 and is the owner of John Cerney Murals in Salinas. His work can best be described as ‘giant cut-out art,’ ordinarily viewed from the comfort of your automobile. He would often convince farmers to let him use their barns as canvases and that evolved into cut-out paintings. John started working in giant scale in 1995, realizing that in order for the viewer to ‘take in’ the figures from a quick moving car, they had to be more monumental in size. His projects are now located throughout the Midwest and Western United States and have been featured in numerous magazines, including National Geographic and Sunset.
The posters are available for purchase for $15 at the California Rodeo Salinas Office, 1034 N. Main Street, Salinas, Monday through Friday from9am to 5pm except for Fridays when the office is closed from 11:45am to 1:15pm for lunch. They can also be purchased online by clicking on About Us and Store (http://www.carodeo.com/p/about-us/store/371). They will also be available for purchase at the California Rodeo Salinas July 19th-22nd, 2018.
About California Rodeo Salinas
The 108th California Rodeo Salinas will take place July 19th-22nd, 2018. The California Rodeo Association is a not-for-profit organization that strives to preserve and promote the traditions of the California Rodeo Salinas and the West. We support the community and other non-profit organizations through the staging of the annual California Rodeo Salinas and other year round operations of the Salinas Sports Complex. Through donation of our facility, vending and fundraising opportunities during Rodeo and other events, the California Rodeo Association returns over $400,000 annually to local non-profits. For more information about the California Rodeo Salinas, log on to www.CARodeo.com or call the California Rodeo Office at 831-775.3100. ‘Like’ the California Rodeo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CARodeoSalinas or follow us on twitter @CaliforniaRodeo for updates, photos and more.