9/15/04 Lompoc in the early 1900's was the "mustard capitol of the world," a distinction that will be honored by a new mural depicting farmers harvesting the seed in a local field a century ago.

Nearly 20 volunteer professional artists will paint the 12-foot by 38-foot mural titled "Fields of Gold," on the north wall of the Dr. Holsenbeck Building in the 100 block of South H Street to kick of the annual Olde Towne Faire beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday.

"I think it's a wonderful piece of art and I think it will be a wonderful addition to the mural society's inventory of murals," said Lompoc Mural Society Chairperson Vicki Andersen. "We hope the community will enjoy it and appreciate it."

Professional mural artist Colleen Goodwin-Chronister, of LeMoore, Calif., painted an original 15-inch by 48-inch scale painting of "Fields of Gold," which the volunteer artists will recapture in larger form.

To do this, Goodwin-Chronister made transparencies of sections of her original and used a light projector to superimpose the painting image onto large wooden mural panels.

Tracings of the projection, which will be filled in with acrylic paint on Saturday, were made Monday night at the mural site. Goodwin-Chronister will supervise the daylong paint work.

Goodwin-Chronister said many of Lompoc's murals bring history alive to residents and provides information about the area to visitors.

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"Murals beautify cities and bring culture to the people," she said. "They're easily visible to everybody."

The participating mural artists are Andersen, Goodwin-Chronister, her husband Warren Chronister, Katrina Bishop, James Cochrane, Hal Dayton, Marti Fast, Linda Gooch, Elizabeth Monks Hack, Linda Lamb, Carol Oliviera, Russell Shinpo, Bill Smith, Nita Streetman, Nadi Spencer, Dee Sudbury, Mara Walton and Ann Thompson.

"A lot of the mural volunteers are locals and want to support the projects," Andersen said. "For people, it seems like a fun event and it is. We work all day, from about 8 a.m. till 5 p.m., and there's always a nice dedication ceremony at the mural site. The artists are all recognized for their contribution and given a certificate. Traditionally, at the end of the day, when everybody scrapes the paint off themselves, we have a 'can't-believe-we-did-it party.' That's kind of their reward."

The Olde Town Faire, sponsored by the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce, will also feature bed races, food, art, entertainment, demonstrations, museum displays and the Pinewood Derby. Activities begin at 11 a.m. in the 100 block of South H Street. Mural painting will end at 5 p.m. Admission to the event is free.

The Lompoc Mural society recently attended the second bi-annual Global Mural Conference held in Ely Nevada late last August.

"The conference really fueled our interest in completing our downtown Art Alley project and also introducing lighting to enhance the night time attraction of our murals," Andersen said in a press release.

Staff writer Neil Nisperos can be reached at 736-2313, Ext. 108, or by e-mail at nnisperos@pulitzer.net.