This mural on a building in Chicago was visible during Pride Month while driving on the Kennedy Expressway (I-90).
The Old Belmont Hotel in Chicago is now called “Belmont by Reside.” The ceiling of the parking lot is itself a work of art.
At the Chicago lakefront near Navy Pier, I once discovered a really cool sculpture, which most people don’t know exists. Sculptor Seward Johnson entitled it “Crack the Whip!” which is the name of a children’s circular game. The individual children’s expressions and the detail in their appearance is delightful and realistic. The child in front pulls the child behind him/her, who in turn pulls the next one as they run in a circle (or try to!). I thought to include photos of this sculpture would be appropriate for the theme of “going in circles.”
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week has the subject flowers – real or fake, an artist’s vision, a mural, a garden or a field of flowers: from a Van Gogh immersion to a castle in Germany.
Spots and Dots is the creative topic for Leya’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.
flowers (2 orchids at Chicago Botanic Gardens, sunflower at Cantigny Park-Robert McCormick estate, Wheaton, Illinois)
animals (Tanzania)
genets, Ndutu Safari Lodge
hyena, Serengeti
cheetah mother & cub, Serengeti
leopard, Serengeti National Park
D’Arnaud’s barbet birds, Serengeti National Park
giraffes, Arusha National Park
art: sculpture (dalmations in Sao Paulo, Brazil; abstract sculpture in St. Charles, Illinois; giant pumpkin somewhere in Japan – this photo was a screenshot; Chinese lion at Cantigny Park, Wheaton, Illinois)
museum art (tapestry, light display)
Leda Catunda, Onca pintada No. 1, 1984, (at museum in Sao Paulo, Brazil)Exhibit at Museu do Futuro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
public art
mural on a wall in a Sao Paulo neighborhood
in an alley painted with murals, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Clock, city center Cologne, Germany
Lightscape light show installations for the holiday season, (Chicago Botanic Gardens, Dec. 2019 and Dec. 2020)
Norm and others have posted colorful and creative doors for Thursday Doors this week. Here are some colorful doors mostly from the De Pijp neighborhood of Amsterdam, which I don’t think I’ve posted before. If I have, so be it – they’re worth having another look!
Locker doors at the Ij (Eye) Film Museum (This is not in the De Pijp neighborhood, but I am sure I have never posted them before.)Warehouse or garage doorThis door isn’t as interesting as what surrounds it!
For Day 6 of Becky’s July Square Perspectives challenge, I look at the artistic angle of perspective: Art – the method by which solid objects drawn or painted on a flat surface are given the appearance of depth and distance.
A few years ago, we took a cruise from Boston to Montreal, and one of our stops was the lovely Quebec City. Wandering around, I saw a mural, which took up an entire wall and, next to it, another one of (famous) people in the windows of a building. These murals were so realistic and blended so well with the surroundings, that it would be easy to mistake them (fortunately I didn’t, because I would have walked into the wall!).
I can’t square the second photo because you need to see the entire wall to get the proper effect.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is anything painted.
Roof decoration on Hualapai Center, Peach Springs, Arizona
Appropriate for the 4th of July! Patriotic painted car, Seligman, Arizona
Train mural, Kingman, Arizona
Painted figures on a maypole next to a painted church, Wurzburg, Germany
Frescoes on the ceiling of a cathedral in Passau, Germany – I took this one year ago today!
Pharaoh offers food to the god Amun. Although in poor condition, the paint on this mural has lasted 3,500 years! Hatshepsut’s Temple, Egypt
Hanging on a wall in a hallway at the Moorings of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Depicted are the parts of a cashew tree.
VW in line for 4th of July parade, Arlington Heights, Illinois – I took this photo 3 years ago today!Birdhouse, Des Plaines, IllinoisPainted chair, Highland Park, IllinoisGospel Singers, by American artist Charles White, exhibit at Art Institute of Chicago, August 2017Realistic looking mural covering an entire wall in Quebec City, Canada
Norm’s Thursday Doors is a weekly opportunity to share photos of doors with other door lovers! This week, I’m dipping back into my archives to present doors that are part of, or surrounded by, street art. (Check out my earlier post for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Murals.)
Black Cat Alley, Milwaukee, Wisconsin: This alley near downtown Milwaukee has become a place for street artists to share their art. This mural includes a door to a formerly industrial building.
A converted warehouse complex in Lincoln, Nebraska has become an artists’ co-op, its outside walls decorated by local artists.
Cuba, Missouri is located on the famous Route 66 and a popular stop along the historic road. There are many murals throughout the town, depicting historical events (including the Civil War) and scenes of daily life.
Pontiac, Illinois is one of the first, or last, stops on Route 66 (depending on whether you are taking the historic road west or east), and as such caters to Route 66 tourists. Besides murals, there is a museum/shop containing all kinds of Route 66 memorabilia and you can visit the bus-converted-to-home of possibly Pontiac’s most well-known native son, Bob Waldmire, who traveled the Mother Road and lived in his bus-home for several years in the Arizona desert.
Whether real or painted, a door is still a door!
For mural/graffiti/street art connoisseurs, Beco do Batman (Batman’s Alley) in São Paulo, Brazil is a must-see. “Graffiti artists” have covered this residential neighborhood – walls, streets, doors, windows, anything paintable – with art!
A restaurant entrance near Batman’s AlleyCourtyard gateGarage doorGarage door/store entrance gatesThis is more graffiti than mural art – the entrance in particular is covered in pure graffiti.More graffiti
Street artists in São Paulo find “canvases” for their artwork in many other places as well. These are found in the vicinity of Ibirapuera Park, a large park with museums, bike paths and other amusements.
For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge with the topic Murals and Graffiti, I have a wealth of photos in my archives, because I love photographing public artwork! I include here a sampling of each location. Note that I have blogged about most of these places before, so there will be some duplicates.
Tucumcari, New Mexico: A town I had never heard of before has apparently achieved renown due to at least two songs about the town, and a novel set there. It’s a stop on Route 66.
Cuba, Missouri: This small town on Route 66 is famous for its murals, depicting historical scenes and events, and scenes of daily life. Many are scenes of the Civil War, but I have not included any of those here. Cuba is a “must-see” for any Route 66 trip!
Pontiac, Illinois: one of the last (or first, depending on which way you go) along Route 66. In Pontiac also is a good-sized museum and store selling all types of Route 66 memorabilia.
Because of its prominence on Route 66, there are miniature cars all over downtown Lexington, each with a different artist’s painting. Local historical figures
Black Cat Alley in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is an alley flanked by old industrial buildings, which has been converted into a “canvas” for local mural painters! Located in the downtown area, it is easy to get to and I would recommend it for anyone visiting Milwaukee that has an interest in mural art.
Lincoln, Nebraska is a surprisingly interesting city. I had never been to Nebraska before our 2018 road trip and since we like to visit capital cities, we spent a day there. There is a section of town we discovered by accident while finding our way to a restaurant recommended online. Across the street was an old warehouse converted into an artists’ co-op workshop with interesting art on the outside walls.
Denver, Colorado: We stayed at a fantastic Airbnb in the artsy part of town. On Tennyson St. (where the first of these photos were taken), they have weekly art fairs during the summer season.
Sidewalk art/graffiti in downtown Denver
Dubuque, Iowa – near the Mississippi River Museum
Des Moines, Iowa
In Amsterdam, Holland we took a private boat tour on the canals and harbor. We discovered several trailers painted in vivid colors.
Brazil is very rich in culture and teeming with artists of all kinds. The more famous ones display their art in galleries and museums. However, the street art is amazing, painted by very talented “graffiti artists.” In the city of São Paulo, there was literally art everywhere – you could barely walk one block without seeing street art.
Ibirapuera Park is a large park in Sao Paulo containing small art museums, walking paths, and refreshment stands. This mural was on the wall outside a public restroom.On another wall outside the same restroomsOn a street near Ibirapuera ParkUnder a bridge near Ibirapuera Park – graffiti art and a homeless person’s possessions
The Iowa state capitol in Des Moines is atop a hill and offers a panoramic view of the city’s downtown. The exterior is entirely of stone with elaborate columns, cornices and capitals.
Looking up inside toward the top of the dome
Posted for Becky’s April Squares with the topic TOP.
The Iowa state capitol building is one of the prettiest I have seen, so I am including more photos highlighting the decorative tile floors and ceilings. The interior is constructed with several types of Iowan wood as well as 29 types of imported marble.
The House of Representatives, looking down:
and above, elaborate decor.
Colorful designs mark the floors, stairways and ceilings.
Mosaic murals
Looking toward the center of the building, the rotunda below
The library is a real gem!
If you are ever in Des Moines, the state capitol is worth a visit – bring your camera!
Cee posted this picture and her Fun Foto Challenge this week is to use the picture to find subjects for this week’s challenge.
Some of her suggestions are: Mural, covered bridge, car, green, grass, vintage car, people, trees, road, flowers, landscape, sidewalk, or come up with your own topic.
Covered bridge (Madison County, Iowa)
Red & yellow flowers (Des Plaines, Illinois) Mural (Cuba, Missouri)
Vintage car (Kingman, Arizona)
Some of her suggestions are: Mural, covered bridge, car, green, grass, vintage car, people, trees, road, flowers, landscape, sidewalk, or come up with your own topic.
Mural (Cuba, Missouri)
Wanderlust & Wonderment 