About the Artist
Allison Bamcat is a Los Angeles-based contemporary artist and muralist known for her candy-coated landscapes, acidic colors, and whimsical creatures. Through the use of vivid color, her paintings work to elicit feelings of her neon, nineties-childhood in Los Angeles, surrounded by sun-bleached, cheap plastic dolls and doodled-on stuffed toys.
She's worked with major brands including The Standard Hotels, PBR, Stoli, Converse Inc., Hurley, Pow! Wow! Worldwide, and Collective Arts Brewing. A former footwear designer at Converse, Allison left the corporate world to pursue her art full-time in 2017 and has since painted murals across the country.
"I definitely look at my art as therapy for my soul," she says—"getting pictures and feelings and colors out that are stuck in my brain so that I can try to communicate what I'm feeling."
About the Mural
Spanning 100 feet across the building, this mural is a love letter to growing up in Southern California. Allison designed the piece with "easter eggs" throughout—details you might catch in a glimpse while driving by, or discover slowly while walking the street.
A rooster wearing a cornicello (an Italian good luck charm) symbolizes the beginning of life and prosperity—a nod to the ranch culture of the Inland Empire. A black swan draped in calla lilies represents our twilight years and the celebration of life, wearing a band reading "IE" for the Inland Empire. Eucalyptus honors local trees, while tomatoes with a hungry hornworm caterpillar pay tribute to the region's agricultural roots.
Hidden throughout are more SoCal treasures: a scorpion lollipop, Joshua Trees, the San Bernardino mountains, an electric sunset, a fault line running through the composition, a hawkmoth in the upper corner, and a candy cane honoring Ontario's beloved Logan's Candies.
"My work hopes to capture the special moments of growing up in SoCal," Allison shared. "These things all remind me of journeys along Route 60."
About the Sponsor: Holt x Palm
Holt x Palm is a home decor and lifestyle retail experience located at 115 South Palm Avenue, right in the heart of Downtown Ontario's Arts District. Founded by Mia Sophia Melle, the shop occupies a century-old historic building that once served as an auto assembly plant — now completely renovated and transformed into an upscale, highly curated retail space and art gallery.
Holt x Palm's commitment to the Arts District extends far beyond retail. As producer of O-Town Walls Muralfest, host of monthly Art Expos every third Saturday, publisher of The Drop quarterly magazine, and operator of Untitled Gallery, Holt x Palm has become the heartbeat of Downtown Ontario's creative renaissance.
Through real estate investment, community programming, and initiatives like this mural festival, Holt x Palm continues to prove that when you invest in your neighborhood, the neighborhood invests back.