31 Aug 31st–sept 6th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | work of art there, but one of his pieces for APS behind The Churchill in Phoenix depicts the Arctic. “We’re all connected, and when things go bad, it’ll be the hottest places and coldest that get affected first,” Caruso says. He’s also painted in Europe, Israel and Russia, and has a goal of putting a mural on every continent. Currently, he’s working on lining up a residency in Antarctica as he continues to work on commissions. Robert Nethercut, COO of Z’Tejas, says the company chose Caruso over others they considered to do large-scale murals at all of their restaurants in Arizona and Texas because his work “just popped.” And they liked the fact that Caruso uses local landmarks and iconic images, such as Tovrea Castle and the Hayden Flour Mill. “For people who are local, who grew up there, they can really connect with the artwork,” Nethercut says. Four years ago, Caruso started writing “Sam and Sara” again along with a series of sketches that he wanted to paint as murals. He contacted chambers of commerce across Arizona to offer free art if they’d provide a wall. The first mural for the book went up in Black Canyon City in December 2019, followed by Camp Verde. Then work came to a halt when the economy was shut down, so Caruso took advantage of the time off by going full steam ahead on the project. He started a Patreon account and raised $5,000 “from people who were kind enough to believe in the project,” he says; their names are on a thank-you page in the book. But Caruso also credits his dog, Gustavo, a bull terrier rescue to whom the book is dedicated, as his “co-creator.” The two of them traveled the entire time together in a converted van with solar panels, but sadly, Gustavo passed away in November 2022 from a growth in his brain. Now that “Sam and Sara” is out, Washington Elementary School District, where Caruso attended, bought copies for all of its schools, and others around the state are buying them as well. It’s sold online and at Uptown Phoenix, a retail space by W.H. Smith in Terminal 4 at the Phoenix airport near gate D11. “We try to bring in a real flavor of what the city is about,” says Nina Terjesen, a divisional vice president of W. H. Smith North America. The company began as a bookseller, she explains, noting, “This is a great way to tie in street art that resonates with the community with W.H. Smith’s mission of supporting literacy.” Caruso also painted a mural in the store and will paint a mural and sell books at Canal Convergence, the largest outdoor arts festival in Arizona, on Nov. 4 in Scottsdale. There, attendees will be able to interact with the “figments” in the mural as they come to life in augmented reality on their phones. Another big project in the works is a 17-foot-tall sculpture of a phoenix for the Valley Metro’s light rail extension that will be placed near Central Avenue and Lincoln Street. It’s Caruso’s first foray into the medium. Meanwhile, Caruso continues to spread the word about “Sam and Sara.” “We as a society need to recognize [A.D.D.] not as a disability but as a super- power so people, in general, can harness it and realize their full potential and be happier,” he says. “Sam and Sara” by Isaac Caruso is illustrated with photos of 56 murals he painted throughout Arizona. (Photo by Isaac Caruso) Artist Isaac Caruso dedicated “Sam and Sara” to his late companion, Gustavo, a bull terrier rescue who traveled the state with him as he painted murals for the book.(Photo by Isaac Caruso) The Writing on the Wall from p 28
