Robert and Nona Gomez have finally found the place to merge their
talents in their new gallery and holistic spa, Dytch66 Gallery and
Holistic by Nona. It is a showroom for Robert’s paintings and a spa
where Nona, an aesthetician and massage therapist, can carry on her work
with clients. The space will be a spa during the week and a gallery with
events on weekends. Since Robert likes to work large, you may also see
him working outside.

Although new in town, locals already know Gomez from his striking murals
that have appeared around town, his gifts to his new home. There are the
ravens on the Idyllwild Beauty Salon, the storm troopers on the Rustic
Theater, the howling canines on the Idyllwild Laundry, and now the
mountain lion that greets everyone who passes the Idyllwild School.

Dytch66 was Robert’s graffiti name. He began in junior high to draw and
practice wherever he could find a solitary bit of concrete. He found the
sheer size of murals “impactful” and “addicting.” In art school at the
Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art he learned that the classical
painters all learned to work big, that murals were their great work, and
found confirmation in his calling. “Graffiti took me to art school, and
art school took me back to the wall.” He eventually built a thriving
business, Blank Canvas LA, with commissions and commercial work for
clients like Disney and the Paul Smith fashion company He has had shows
and left murals across the country and overseas: Austin; Chicago; San
Diego; Denver; Portland; Washington, DC; Milan, Italy; Léon, France; São
Paulo, Brazil. Many of his murals have become southland landmarks.

But the urban life was wearying, the “chaotic energy that changes so
fast, place to place and person to person.” Nona says it was “time to do
something on a more personal level.” Robert adds “we were there to do
business, to grow into who we needed to be, and be in the right place to
work with everybody, be in the midst of everything.” Like many young
people moving to Idyllwild recently Robert found he could now work
anywhere. “This is about us switching gears.” This includes sometimes
working smaller; more intimate paintings that can be carried home.

Nona provided the memory that brought the couple to Idyllwild. “I went
to the Art School here, the Summer Programs. Pre-covid we were looking
for a small artist community. We went all over; Denver, Portland, but
nothing was quite hitting it, until I just remembered Idyllwild last
September. Robert fell in love, and I fell back in love, we moved by
January.” This “hits” it. “Surrounded by tall trees is our love
language, and being around people who are kind and artistic.”

His first gallery event will be a November 3 show focused on his
reimagining of the lore and mythology of the raven, that intelligent and
versatile bird that provides a connection between our forest and the
city. Robert and Nona befriended a crew of ravens as they weathered the
pandemic in the Hollywood Hills and continue to be inspired by their
presence here. The artwork is Robert’s vision of “ravens in different
dimensions, the different characteristics they would have, the mythology
of the raven, how it’s between both worlds.”

Nona and Robert find that now is the “perfect time to join a local art
world that is reinventing itself.” Robert wants to offer “Something
different, new energy, pieces that move the public.” His murals have
introduced him to the town, so “when people come in here, it’s already a
conversation.”

As to Nona’s role, she has been an aesthetician, massage therapist and
Reiki practitioner for 26 years. Her services include facials, collagen
and hydro-lifting peels, waxing, and massage. She likes to call her body
work “deep flow, not just deep tissue” massage. She finds herself in a
supportive community of healers. “I’ve been welcomed in a way that is
kind and beautiful.” She finds in her work that she is excited to be
“able to give my expertise and my love in a way that allows people see
themselves in a healthier way, internally or externally.” She is serving
both locals and tourists, a “beautiful combination of humans.” And
clients get to be immersed in Robert’s art while they are there. She
also takes care of much of Robert’s business, finding and communicating
with clients, managing production, “everything except picking up a spray
can.” On their partnership she adds “We’re very lucky, we work well
together, we don’t always have to agree to enjoy each other’s
processes.”

Visit Blankcanvasla.com, follow Dytch66 on Instagram, visit
holisticbynona.com, follow holisticbynona on Instagram. Dytch66 Gallery
and Holistic by Nona, in the Victorian Square shops, 54845 North Circle.