PAINTING THE TOWN IN LOMPOC.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

Walk along the downtown streets of the tiny coastal town of Lompoc and the images come rushing up at you unexpectedly: Chumash tribesmen paddling canoes; gobs of brilliantly colored flowers; a couple of guys sitting on the banks of a fishing hole; the city's first fire chief behind the wheel of an antique engine; a desert landscape; black-and-white cows against a rainbow-colored landscape.

No, they're not in your imagination, and you haven't wandered into an art museum. The images are on the sides of buildings - up alleys and along main streets - of this little town, just a few miles toward the Pacific Ocean from the Ventura Freeway (101) at Buellton, a 15-minute drive west from the Danish village of Solvang.

The town, known for its springtime flower festival and its laid-back 1950s charm, is also becoming known for the paintings that decorate its downtown drug stores and office buildings, restaurants and taverns, overlooking busy streets and parking areas. You'll even find mini murals - twining vines and flowers and other creative touches - around doorways, outlining alley trash cans.

``People are gradually finding out about our murals,'' said Lompoc Chamber of Commerce spokesman Gene Stevens. ``We're beginning to see bus tours and people walking around with cameras.''

So far, the city landscape sports 21 murals - the 21st depicts the town's original mission, destroyed in an earthquake - and work is under way on two more. The 22nd, at Ocean Avenue and Eighth Street, shows a scenic view of the Lompoc Valley as seen from the back seat of a 1941 Lincoln convertible, parked on an overlook; completion is expected this month. The 23rd mural depicts nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base and the aerospace base's relationship with the city; when completed in mid-July, it will welcome visitors near the junction of Highway 1 and Highway 246.

``It'll be a monster, 24 feet high and 36 feet long,'' Stevens said.

And on Oct. 12, local artists will add a 24th mural to the collection as part of the annual Mural in a Day project, in which several painters create a new work of art in just one day; the subject and location of that mural have not been determined.

The murals project began in August 1988, patterned after a similar program in Chemainus, British Columbia. A group that named itself the Lompoc Murals Project began to raise money and, by October 1993, had picked subjects, contracted with artists and designated sites for 11 murals. The goal was 30 murals, funded by grants from various organizations, industries and individual contributions.

The project also encouraged local businesses to sponsor murals and to hire artists to cover the outside walls of their firms with color.

So far, mural subjects range from local - such as the flower industry, early education and local Latino influence - to far-reaching and fanciful - such as the canals of Venice. They include commerce, history and even morals, with wall paintings focusing on early education, local miners, a local lighthouse and the town's early history as a temperance colony.

Visitors to the annual flower festival - scheduled to run June 26-30 in Ryon Park at O Street and Ocean Avenue - can get an eyeful of color from both the murals and the local flower fields.

``Hometown Pride'' is the theme of this year's flower festival, which kicks off with a parade at 10 a.m. June 29 at North H Street and East Pine Street. The line of march features equestrian units and bands, but the prime participants are locally made floats decorated with flowers and other natural materials, most of which are grown in the valley.

Other events include a five-day carnival, bingo games, entertainment, food, arts and crafts, and a flower show. In another bow to the valley's flower industry, the Lompoc Alpha Club will present its 74th annual flower show from noon to 6 p.m. June 29 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 30 in the Veterans Memorial Building at the south end of H Street.

And hourlong guided bus tours will give visitors an up-close look at more than 1,000 acres of flower fields. Tours, round trip from Ryon Park, run from noon to 5:10 p.m. June 29 and noon to 4:30 p.m. June 30.

A bouquet of activities

You'll find Lompoc's murals in the downtown area; just cruise the main streets to spot them. For a map of the murals and the flower fields, drop by the Lompoc Chamber of Commerce office at 111 S. I St.; write the chamber at P.O. Box 628, Lompoc, Calif. 93436; or call [phone].

For information about the flower festival, call the Lompoc Valley Festival Association, [phone]. Festival parking is available west of Ryon Park, off South R Street.

During the festival, the Lompoc Museum, at 200 S. H St., will display Chumash artifacts along with a special exhibit tracing the history of the area's flower seed industry. It's open 2 to 5 p.m. June 28 and 29.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

Photo: This Lompoc mural takes viewers instantly fromthe evergreens to the cactuses.

Carol Bidwell/Daily News

Box: A bouquet of activities (See Text)