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!
The Sandy Chronicles’ weekly Friendly Friday challenge this week is Street Art.
Street art has become more popular in recent years, and one can find good street art almost anywhere.
Sandy says there are several kinds of street art: Spray Painted Murals – large scale pictures drawn on walls and colored with spray paint. Graffiti – one of the most popular and oldest form of street art, going back to ancient Egypt and Greece. 3D Wall Graffiti – with creative shadowing and paint effects, murals appear to be popping out of walls. Poster Art – is art which is printed or drawn on papers and then attached or hung on walls. Sticker Street Art – made with eye-catching stickers of different sizes and posted on trees, lampposts, walls and benches. Sculptures – are structures displayed on streets, typically with cultural, political, religious or historical significance.
We took a 4-day trip to Iowa two years ago and saw some wonderful street art: Downtown Des Moines (click on images to see larger)
In Dubuque, near the riverfront Maritime Museum, were these beautiful murals.
This 3D mural in Quebec City was stunning – this is actually a section of a much larger, full-wall 3D mural.
In Chicago, you never know when you’ll run across something like this.
On Route 66, between Gallup and Santa Fe, NM – this is just a small sample of street art that can be found in towns all over the Southwest.
Santa Fe
Santa Fe
The painted bikes are art!
Building with license plates, signs, on the outside walls
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
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
For connoisseurs of “graffiti art” (although most of it is much more beautiful than graffiti), there is a neighborhood in São Paulo called Beco do Batman (Batman’s Alley) – wander its cobblestone streets to see an explosion of beautiful and/or humorous murals and sometimes political statements. The first two photos were taken outside Beco do Batman proper, which is residential – and we needed lunch so these were our view from the small café where we ate.
Wanderlust & Wonderment 