THE LEAD ARTIST

Your Evergreen muralist, Lila Gemellos, found her passion early on in life.  A Millbrook kindergarten teacher encouraged her parents to put her in art classes.  When Lila Gemellos discovered oil painting at 8 years old, a dream was born.  The ’03 Silver Creek Alumni pursued oil painting through UCRiverside before entering the corporate world of real estate and property management.  During that time, a powerful education was being had, but the dream was never lost.

For the last five years, Lila Gemellos, 30, sole-proprietor, paints murals in public schools, homes, medical offices, restaurants and other businesses, including the Falafel Drive In located at 2301 Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128.  Each job is a joy and an opportunity not given or taken lightly.  Gemellos has been brightening schools and classrooms, bringing edge to trendy businesses and adding joy to people’s homes with the murals she paints.

Lila Gemellos’s expertise is in visual story-telling but doesn’t limit herself artistically.  She’s proficient and confident in many traditional, photorealistic and impressionist styles.  The details count in every project.    The statement of the artwork matters tremendously to Gemellos.

She brings her strong San Jose roots to her artwork in her visual narratives.  She can’t help but to be proud of her large city’s rich heritage and its support for the Arts.

Prior to painting murals, Gemellos was in the construction and real estate industries, and understands the liabilities and the due diligence.  Though Gemellos has been focused on mural artwork for public schools, it is her dream someday to bring her positive vibes and informative style to the truly public arena.

For more about Lead Artist and Evergreen Mural Walk Coordinator, Lila Gemellos, go to www.gemellosmurals.com

INSPIRATION

I’m an Evergreen native.  High School Sweethearts, my parents moved to the area from Lodi in 1978 and became homeowners in the early 1980’s.  The move provided my mom more opportunities professionally.  Now, she’s a shroud businesswoman, representing and building one of the largest real estate portfolios in San Jose.  My father, once a tech salesman, pursued teaching later in his career and while I was in high school.  The change in him with the professional change was profound.  I had never seen anyone so happy, and able to work blocks from his house.  He runs into students at the grocery store.  He coaches basketball, and teaches chess and math.  The Indian community invites my Greek father to their events as a leader in the community.  He leads by example and with sheer joy.  My parents are the inspirations for most things I do.  I do something I’m so proud of in my community, like my father, and try it with a high degree of professionalism, like my mother.

My inspirations, I mean parents, used to talk about moving in across from large apricot orchards.  I fondly reminisce over bicycle rides with mom to get cherries off San Felipe Road.  We walked as a family to the library over quaint bridges and trickling streams.  I remember safe creeks to stomp through and safe streets to run and bike.  I love my neighborhood.  I always have.  Being born here is like winning the lottery.

My largest clients are the public schools and I’m a beautification measure to prevent graffiti.  It is an opportunity to educate through a visual means and remind students of their goals daily.  Its function is more than prevention and is a compromise the principals make with the community to mitigate maintenance expenses and vandalism.  As much as I love inspiring students and speaking for passionate administrators and staff, it breaks my heart at what expense the school incur in the process.  It’s a business but a passion.  I’m at a crossroads for what is best for my client and myself.

What would do everything?  What would create the community pride that I enjoy for everyone?  What could prevent further damage to the public schools?  What could inspire walks over quaint bridges again?