Eatery scenery

Water and sky brighten the walls of this Vancouver eatery.

All that jazz

This fabulous mural is on the wall of a coffee shop just down the street from me. I just love it!

Beach tapas

This mural gives even those guests seated by the wall a view on the patio of a little tapas restaurant - in White Rock.

Ethnic ambience

If you do any amount of eating out, you're sure to find restaurants where murals are part of the decor. This beautiful 3-D mural graced the wall of a Chinese restaurant we visited last December.

 

Christmas mural extravaganza!

(The post below was first published here in December 2006. See the update below the original article for working links to Mr. Hetland's murals.)

You have never seen Christmas murals like those David J. Hetland of Concordia College (Moorhead Minnesota)! Each mural was the backdrop of the annual Christmas concert at the college and reflected that year’s theme. Designed by Mr. Hetland, the murals were painted by volunteers under his supervision and were later recycled.

Some themes and related murals:

"O Come All Ye Faithful"

"Shout Glad Tidings"

"Let Heaven and Nature Sing"

(More here. When you click on the link under the thumbnail of each mural, you get a sense of scale – of how large and grand these paintings are when viewed with the choir and orchestra.)

David J. Hetland was a nationally-recognized designer known for his liturgical works in mosaic and stained glass. He died in April this year (2006).

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11-20-09 Update

It seems that the David Hetland website is no longer working, thus the many stale links above. There are other places online that have thumbnails of Mr. Hetland's murals. Here is a short video of him, talking about his role in the mural projects along with a mural slide show. 

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Bonus: 

One of David J. Hetland's last projects was the creation of a set of stained glass windows for St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Crookston, Minnesota. See the stunning images here.

Oldies

Music on the move

Awaiting metamorphosis?

Illusory houses on the hill

The race

Colorful

Pizza crown?

Not sure what this means - but it is good looking!

Soccer!

Soccer is a favored sport amongst the Drive's ethnic shopkeepers and their customers.

Folksy and muted

I love the folksy theme and muted colors of this mural which, judging by the machine at the site, was still in progress when I took these shots.

Underwater

Swimmers on the Drive

Demure

... and very pretty

Welcome to Penelope's

A surreal welcome to Penelope's - a Commercial Drive store that promises the shopper imported treats like alpaca ponchos and sweaters from Peru, and vivid silk/cotton scarves from India, Thailand, and Laos.

 

Mystic moonscene

These two panels make up one moon-struck mural. The front says: "Whose idea was this to have the lover visible and the Beloved invisible?" - Rumi

Commercial Drive's Mardi Gras

The party is definitely Mardi on the mural that runs the length of this Commercial Drive establishment.

WaaZuBee mountain

Not sure about the significance of this snowy mountaintop mural - another one in the Commercial Drive collection.

Style montage

This Commercial Drive storefront mural is a mixed bag of styles - from the First Nations poles and longhouse on the upper left, to grade-school figures in the foreground. Could be a joint effort?

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Beach-bound

This mural above the Pasta Bar & Grill on Commercial Drive is easy to miss. The beach-going bovine quartet look like they're all set for a day at Kits.

(Click on photo to enlarge)

The Drive

This Commercial Drive mural by Ben T. Senetchko shows people enjoying the variety of activities one observes all the time on this funky street.

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Vivid and mouth-watering

Is this gorgeous or what? Love the colors, love the location. It makes me want to get out there and buy potatoes and green onions, for crying out loud!

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Native style

This mural is drawn in the style of Native art. Too bad it's tucked away in a back lane and easy to miss.

Oriental symbols

This dream-inspired mural (on Commercial Drive in Vancouver) is no doubt loaded with significance given the tiger, panda, lion and the palm trees that look a lot like Chinese characters.

Here it is, first stitched together with close-ups below.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Bold and colorful

I've taken a bit of a break from the mural blog, but am ready to dive in again. This summer hasn't been as good for mural sightings as some others. But I have managed to gather a few goodies.

In the days ahead, I'll be posting my latest finds - mural photos collected along Commercial Drive in Vancouver. (Sorry, no street coordinates, but they were all sighted along Commercial Drive between East 1st Avenue and Venables.)

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Take a look at this beauty, painted on the side of a produce market. The rich colors and energetic figures make you want to move those piles of flats and boxes to get a better look!

(If anyone has more information about this or any mural you find posted here, please let me know and I'll gladly update with titles, artist names etc.)

New murals added Mondays and Thursdays.