Renaissance Esmeralda Resort’s New Arcade Features Mural That Unites Low and High Deserts

Desert Glow

Coachella Valley-based muralist John Cuevas has helped transform the cityscapes of the desert cities with his very public outdoor mural work. It’s work that spans the exterior walls of civic buildings, malls and restaurants, and even commercial office buildings - all invigorating their exterior environments and inciting conversation among the community. Most recently, Cuevas, who never shies away from painting even in the extreme desert heat, was tapped to tackle a new project - this time indoors - at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, California.  A newly built arcade and game space at the resort became the perfect canvas for Cuevas to showcase his desert-inspired aesthetic.

The duckpin bowling alley at Indian Wells  Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa

The resort approached Cuevas with the idea of a "Desert Glow" theme for the new space, which consisted of four designated areas: an escape room in the back, a virtual reality and video area, a duckpin bowling alley, and a full bar. “The goal was to merge the themes of all four environments,” says Cuevas. “All of the games had a wild west theme, so I used that as the backdrop. The space moves from low desert to high desert . The mural travels from the purple glow of swaying palm trees morphs into the the dustier hues and Joshua Trees synonymous with the high desert.

Renaissance Esmeralda Mural Creative Process

Bringing all these spaces together seamlessly, however, wasn’t without its challenges. The work is approximately 2,760 sq ft and was organically constructed as the walls and games came together throughout the build phase, making the painting a bit of a stop and start process for Cuevas. In total, accounting for the aforementioned construction time, the mural took six weeks to complete. The artist explains, “the location of the games and game height was a variable. This project kept me on my toes and that was exciting.” Providing artwork for a gaming space served up other interesting new variables for Cuevas as well, including the strong, contrasting glow that the video games themselves emit. But it’s all of these nuances which Cuevas worked into his design and his color scheme. “The colors I chose amplify the neon-like glow of the screens,” he says.

The Desert Color Palette

For example, there was a heavy periwinkle purple presence from the LED screens of the the basketball game, so Cuevas used Prime Pink (DE5110), Salmon Upstream (DE5109), and Charming Cherry (DE5074) to complement the purple glow by mimicking the colors of the desert mountains at sunset. For his color choices, Cuevas also took inspiration from design threads through the hotel itself. “The Renaissance Esmeralda Resort also has this beautiful honey walnut wood throughout the property,” he explains, “so I used Apricot Glow (DE5290) and Pumpkin Pie (DE5228) to continue the warmth of this wood into the space.”

The artist also crafted an implied horizon throughout the space, doing so to assist the gameplay. He explains, the best way to experience the space is to play some games and let your mind and eyes relax into the colors. Overall the work is a study of how light and heat reflect off the desert as color, in short, Cuevas explains, the term "Desert Glow" is the perfect theme to encapsulate the mural.

The Coachella Valley continues to be a burgeoning region for creatives of all types from muralists such as Cuevas, to fashion brands, and interior designers.

Interested in seeing more from artist John Cuevas? See how this Palm Desert mural of his is uniting strangers and friends, alike, or how this mural super charged the La Quinta Public Library. For more desert happenings in and around Palm Springs check out how this mid-century icon  was reborn as an embodiment of Barbiecore. 

All images provided courtesy of John Cuevas