SRVUSD Student Signs Incredible Walt Disney Mural

DANVILLE, CA - From San Ramon Valley Unified School District: San Ramon Valley High School senior, Ryan Parnas, has recently completed an originally designed mural of Walt Disney at Charlotte Wood Middle School, which he has been working on for the past three years. At a signing ceremony on Thursday, October 4, Ryan signed the mural, which he leaves as a legacy to the school.

Ryan says the mural was inspired by a similar drawing of Walt Disney done by another artist. The mural was formed using about 200 individual Disney character pictures acquired from books and digital research. From a close-up perspective, the images of the characters can be seen, but the view from a distance reveals a stunning portrait of the characters’ innovator, Walt Disney, himself.

Ryan put 100s of hours of work into the mural, working on it in the art room at Charlotte Wood Middle School, under the supervision of his former Charlotte Wood Middle school art teacher Gary Leveque. The Disney mural is the 25th student mural completed in the art room at Charlotte Wood.

Leveque said, “Ryan would come into my art room every Wednesday afternoon and work into the evening on his mural. His dedication to this mural has been extraordinary.”

The characters are rendered completely in values from white to black. The composition is remarkably detailed. Ryan plans to combine his love for art and mathematics and pursue both in college.

Ryan’s family and friends gathered Thursday night to celebrate his accomplishment and witness his signing the mural.

“It’s so wonderful to look around our magic art room and remember the artists who created these amazing images on our walls over the past 23 years. I am one lucky teacher,” says Leveque.

Image via San Ramon Valley Unified School District