Noah's Ark mural

This cheery Noah's Ark mural greets the youngest members of our congregation every Sunday.

That plus these underwater scenes on the walls -- all drawn and painted by (or under the supervision of) Kim Block -- give a wonderfully kid-friendly atmosphere to the children's foyer of our church.

Summery mural

It's mural season again! I don't know why but somehow the summer seems more conducive to photographing murals than winter. This bright painting from White Rock, B.C. is sure to get one in a summer mood. Happy first day of summer!

Chemainus, B.C. - 6

Japanese immigrants made a considerable contribution to Chemainus and Vancouver Island life in general. Several Chemainus murals comemorate this immigrant community.




"The Lone Scout" by Stanley Taniwa, Clanwilliam, Manitoba (1991)

A tribute to Edward Shige Yoshida for the realization of his dream in 1929 of starting the 2nd Chemainus Boy Scouts, an all Japanese-Canadian troop and the first of its kind in the country.



"The Winning Float" by Joyce Kamikura, Richmond B.C. (1991)

The winning float in the parade on June 30, 1939 at the Victoria Lumber Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

Read more about the history of the Japanese on Vancouver Island here.

Chemainus, B.C. - 5

"Climax Engine Number Three" painted by Dan Sawatzky (Cultus Lake, B.C.)

Engine No.3 hauling logs in 1907. Shown is Sam Alexander, an engineer for 50 years on the Victoria Lumber and Manufacturing Co. Railroad.

Chemainus, B.C. - 4

Lenora Mines at Mount Sicker - 1988 (Painted by Peter Bresnen, Halifax, Nova Scotia)
On May 16, 1897 Harry Smith and partner staked the famous Lenora Claim for copper.



More information about Mount Sicker can be found here. And here is a page of black and white B. C. Archive photos of the copper mining era.


Chemainus Hospital - 1988 (painted by Doug Driediger, Calbary, Alberta)
When built in 1899 it was the only hospital between Victoria and Nanaimo. Notice the nurse uniforms and caps.

The Spirit of Chemainus - 1991 (painted by Dan Sawatzky, assisted by son Peter - 15 at the time, Cultus Lake, B.C.)
This mural of this graceful sailing ship decorates the wall of the Pacific Shores Inn. The boat that served as model to this mural was built in 1985 as an offshoot of and tribute to the Chemainus Festival of Murals.

Chemainus, B.C. - 3

The town of Chemainus continued to add to its mural collection year by year.

Chemainus Tug Boat - 1984 (painted by Harry Heine, Victoria, B.C.)
Built in 1909 for the Victoria Lumber & Manufacturing Company Ltd.


Chinese Bull Gang - 1984 (painted by Ernest Marza, Victoria, B.C.)
Twenty-three men of the “Chinese Bull Gang” struggle to move a huge timber through the lumber yard to a waiting sailing vessel.


World in Motion - 1986 (painted by Alan Wylie, Fort Langley, B.C.)
1883- 1939 Parade, Heritage Hotels and Shriner Band.


Chemainus Harbor 1910 - 1987 (painted by Colin Williams)
A panoramic view of Chemainus in 1910 capturing the colorful memories of the old logging town.

Chemainus, B.C. - 2

Downtown Chemainus had been rejuvenated in 1982 with five beautiful historic murals. Then in 1983, the town’s biggest employer, the lumber mill, closed after 120 years. Almost 700 people became unemployed in a community of just under 4,000.

But instead of giving up, this Cowichan Valley town surged ahead with a new dream of attracting tourists with murals. The Festival of Murals Society was established that year. That year Chemainus also won the New York Downtown Revitalization Award for redevelopment of the downtown core. Seven more historic-themed murals were added to the town’s collection in 1983:

“Logging With Oxen”
Around 1898 oxen were the main form of power in logging.
(painted by Harold Lyon, Fountain Hills, Arizona)

“Camp 2 On A Sunday”
Loggers spending their Sunday on personal chores at Camp 2, 1902.
(painted by David J. More, Red Deer Alberta)

“Company Store”
An interior rendering of the Victoria Lumber and Manufacturing Company Store, 1917
(painted by Dan Sawatzky, Cultus Lake, B.C.)

“Temporary Homes”
Accomodation for a construction crew in 1912 during road building north of Chemainus.
(painted by David White, Nassau, Bahamas)


"Native Heritage"
Based on the figures from the Native past and present in this area, three tribes are shown.
(painted by Paul Ygartua, Vancouver, B.C.)

Also painted that year were "The Arrival of the 'Reindeer'" and "Chemainus 1891"

Of all these, my favorites are the oxen and the temporary homes. Clicking on the "Logging with Oxen" link takes you to the mural tour page with some fascinating information about how one logged with these beasts.

The temporary homes mural looks a lot like a watercolor to me - beautifully done!

Mural Mecca - Chemainus, BC (Part 1)

It was pouring rain when we left home for Vancouver Island the morning of January 2nd. One of the things I really wanted to do while were we on the Island was visit Chemainus, a little Vancouver Island town now famous throughout the world for its collection of historic murals. We had hoped to do that on the 2nd – but in a deluge?

When we disembarked at Swartz Bay, the precip seemed lighter. And so, thinking this might be the best that we got – keeping in mind the moody winter we’ve had so far on the coast – we made a snap decision at the junction of Highways 17 and 1, and turned north onto 1 and the road to Chemainus.

Despite a confusing interchange which took us on a thirty-minute detour in search of lunch, we got to our destination around 3 p.m. Even as I climbed out of the car to snap the first mural, the few remaining sprinkles of rain turned to pale sunshine. So for the next two hours, we tramped around downtown Chemainus following the yellow footprints painted on the sidewalks in a self-directed tour. I managed to photograph twenty-eight of the thirty-eight murals but only two of the ten sculptures – which only means I need to go back!

Chemainus’s mural project began in 1982 when the town council decided to put some muscle into beautifying the downtown. Ideas for the first murals came from historic books and photos. Five were painted that first summer.

"Steam Donkey at Work" was the first mural painted. (Click on any photo to enlarge)

It shows a steam donkey and crew hauling a log from the forest. It was repainted in 1994.
Artists: Frank Lewis and Nancy Lagana - Victoria B.C.

Other murals painted in 1982:

"Thirty-three Meter Collage"

Stevedores at the Chemainus wharf.

A boom man sorting logs.

Engine #21 rolls off another load of logs into Chemainus log dump
(Artists: Frank Lewis, Nancy Lagana - Victoria BC & Paul Marcano - Saltspring Island BC)

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"Steam Train on Bridge Over Chemainus River"

Locomotive #4 hauling logs over Chemainus River.
Artist: Paul Marcano - Saltspring Island, BC

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"The Hong Hing Waterfront Store"

Hong Hing ran a laundry and then a general store from 1915 to 1950.
Artist: Paul Marcano - Saltspring Island

Video clip showing artists at work on this mural

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Fallers Undercutting a Fir

(This one I missed)

To be continued...

Christmas murals at Grants Pass, OR

The Home For Christmas mural, above, is one of eighteen unique murals on display in Grants Pass, Oregon over Christmas. Panels 5 x 10 feet display colorful scenes by day. With fiber optic lighting they transform at night to shows of color, music, and light.

Click on any gallery picture on this page to get the enlargement and a description of the mural’s special features.

Crescent Beach - Surrey, BC

Our walk down Crescent Beach today took us past "Meg’s Place" – a beach house that is not shy about celebrating Christmas. Piped Christmas music originating from somewhere on the property floated across the path and a peek into the yard revealed a festive fairyland.

A Christmas mural in progress

I have no personal photos of Christmas murals – therefore no pictures to post. But there are some to be found on the web.

A mural artist named Cam has posted several Christmas mural works in progress.

View the almost finished first project here.

If you’re interested in how a garage-door-sized piece of canvas becomes a mural, check out his slide show, tracking the progress of the project above.

Art Gallery - Thunder Bay, ON

Murals decorate the covered window openings of the art gallery – a building located on the Thunder Bay waterfront (which was closed until further notice when we visited there this summer). The paintings, which look rather unremarkable from a distance, are really beautiful when viewed up close.

Winnipeg, MB

Yesterday the home team – the B.C. Lions – won the Grey Cup (football). Now, I do not claim even reflected glory from this. Our very tiny Grey Cup party fizzled when someone (not I) got sick. My only participation in the game was to occasionally check on the score from the bedroom where I was reading.

The game was played in Winnipeg - and I realized, as soon as I saw this site what I would have wanted to do had I been there.


This mural is located at 756 Ellice Avenue in Winnipeg. The artist is Jill Sellers. Check out the link above for 552 more mural shots, photos of other art, and artist info from around that city.

Cloverdale - Surrey, BC

On our way to the Remembrance Day ceremony on Saturday, we passed this mural. It does a good job of representing Cloverdale (one of Surrey’s several town centers), known for its flea markets, antique shops and the rodeo. Cloverdale’s quaint western-town streets have also made it a favorite location for movie and commercial shoots. Smallville, Postal, Hot Rod and others were filmed there.

The three scenes of remembrance, below, are painted are on the wall of a building facing the cenotaph square -- in Cloverdale as well.

Cloverdale Cenotaph, Surrey BC

Ernie and I joined hundreds of others at the Cenotaph in Cloverdale this morning for a Remembrance Day ceremony.





A special event this morning was the unveiling and dedication of a new statue on the cenotaph memorial


The representation of a World War 1 soldier, kneeling at the grave of a fallen comrade was commissioned to replace an earlier similar one which was melted down to make bullets for World War II. This new piece was paid for in part with funds raised by Surrey school children.


Before we left, we unpinned our poppies and placed them with hundreds of others on the memorial as a token of our remembrance and thanks to Canadian soldiers past and present.





We remember.

Lest we forget

These murals are painted on the walls of the Smithers Legion, Smithers, BC. They remind us of the Canadian soldiers who lost their lives in W.W. I, II and the Korean War.

Remembrance Day is Saturday. Of course, this year we'll also be remembering Canadian soldiers who have died much more recently in missions like the one to Afghanistan.

Beachcombing - West Vancouver, BC

We spent some time walking on the beach today, and I was reminded of these little finds we made on a different beach this summer. Who would think beachcombing would yield mosaics? We noticed these walking along the West Vancouver sea wall.