War Posters

These poster murals are also from Vernon. They're drawn on walls near the cenotaph. Their messages obviously come from a different era.

Wartime efforts

A whole street of buildings facing the cenotaph square in Vernon has paintings in memory of wartime. These can be viewed from Cenotaph Park - 31st Avenue and 30th Street. Again Michelle Loughery was the lead artist.

In Memory - 2001

Unfortunately there was a truck parked right in front of the handsome soldier, so I only got a very oblique shot of him.

I love the amazing sky in the mural below.

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Alice Parke Diaries

Alice Barrett Parke's daily journals were the inspiration for this mural. In 1891 this Port Dover, Ontario resident moved to the Okanagan Valley to be a housekeeper for her brother. She married Harold Parke, a former Northwest Mounted Police officer and wrote in her diaries about work, health, religion, race and gender relations, and women's lives.

Her diaries later became the book Hobnobbing with a Countess and Other Okanagan Adventures: Diaries of Alice Barrett Parke, 1891 - 1900, edited by Jo Fraser Jones.

Alice Park Diaries
2002 by Michelle Loughery lead artist
2910 - 31st Avenue in Vernon.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

I like the handwritten journal page background and granny glasses. I wonder, when she was writing those diaries, did she have any idea they would someday be published?

Vernon murals

We spent a few hours last Saturday mural hunting in the Okanagan city of Vernon. (Yaaay - new murals at last!) Vernon's mural project, which consists of 27 murals scattered throughout the downtown area, is described on their website:

The mural project was a multi-year collaborative effort which included both a youth employment and revitalization strategy. Initial core funding came from Human Resources Development Canada as part of a job creation program.

Over 54 youth were hired and gained valuable life skills and real work experience. Many of these youth have gone on to rewarding careers. Two of the youth, Steven Skolka and Tyler Toews have created their own company called Canadian Murals. ...

The mural project created pride in our heritage and was a catalyst for revitalization of the heritage character of Vernon's downtown business center.

In the days ahead, I'll be posting my photos of these murals here. Today we begin with the mural "Shuswap and Okanagan Railway" created in 2000. It is located at 2899 - 29th Street and Michelle Loughery was the main artist.

Shuswap and Okanagan Railway

This spur of the CPR was begun in Sicamous in 1890. It reached Vernon in 1891. Though it was officially called the S&O, it was nicknamed the Molasses Ltd. because people said they could make the trip faster by foot.

(Information about the murals comes from The Heritage Murals of Downtown Vernon website.)

Amateur muralist

(Sorry, but we're really scraping the bottom of the mural barrel here...)

These are murals I painted quite a few years ago, when I was in charge of the kids' part of our church's missionary conference.

This mountain village represents a mission compound in Venezuela.




And this, of course, is the jungle.

Dutch Mother's Restaurant

The street wasn't the only place we found murals in Lynden.

We had lunch at the Dutch Mother's Restaurant. Our table was in a room with this streetscape mural.


These fine folk keep an eye on the clientele in the buffet area.

Tulips, clogs and windmolen

Lynden Washington has a delightful mural wall on Front Street. Not surprisingly it's on Dutch theme. When we visited, about two weeks ago, the town was gearing up for Dutch Days, thus the sideways view of the first panel (there was a tent in the way).

Click on any picture to see a larger view.

Sound of silence

Do you hear it? Silence. No more music. When I checked the Sonific website this morning, after noticing my player hasn't been working in the last few days, I discovered that it is no more, due to music licensing issues. I'm sad. Explanation is here.

Just do it!

Mural sightings have been scarce lately. However, I do have a few I still haven't posted here.

Here is one that brightens the walkway wall of the Superstore in Kamloops, photographed when we were there a few weeks ago. I guess the reminder is to do more with that load of groceries you're trucking home than to only wear out the couch.

Beach Mosaics

This morning we drove to West Vancouver for brunch with friends. Then to settle that yummy combination of French toast sandwiches, fruit salad, and coffee we took a walk along the sea wall.

Someone has been busy, laying more mosaics into the stones along the walkway. These new ones join several I posted here in November '06.

Beach peas

Anchor

Seahorse

Fish

and a whale

Easter Pysanka

I've been saving this beautiful Vegreville pysanka statue / weather vane for this season. Here it is today -- a week before Good Friday.

We stopped in Vegreville on our trip through Alberta last fall to photograph this largest pysanka in the world. It was put up in 1974 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the RCMP and to celebrate the cultural diversity of the Vegreville community. Hubby, standing at its base, gives an idea of its size.


Pysanka are traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs. They are made with chicken eggs using a batik process, where wax, funneled through the tip of an instrument that's as fine as a pen (stylus), provides a resist to many baths of dye. The end result is amazingly intricate and colorful.

My husband is of Ukrainian descent and his mom had her own collection of pysanka -- not made by her, though.

For a detailed description of the process and explanation of what the colors signify, visit "Art of Ukrainian Pysanka" by artist and muralist Patricia Buzo of -- Patricia's Palette.

For a collection of hand-made pysanka that spans years, check out Luba Petrusha's Annual Collections gallery. Click on each year (top) to view the collection of that year's pysanka. Absolutely stunning!

Airport Murals

A few years ago I had a wait at the Calgary airport. I believe that is where I photographed this interesting collage mural.




When I was back through Calgary a few weeks ago, I looked for it - but it was nowhere in sight.

Instead, this horsey mural was on display in the flight lounge area.

murals to fool and pleasure the eye

Patricia Buzo is a muralist who lives and works in Minnesota. She specializes in trompe l'oeil (to fool the eye) murals as well as painted tapestry hangings and decorative designs.

I will whet your appetite with just one of her beautiful tapestry murals (which has obviously been designed with her client's tastes and collections in mind). Another view of the same piece can been seen here.


Clicking on any image on her gallery page takes you to enlarged views and details, information about the location of the mural, an explanation of technique and media, even some photos of the work in progress.

Her elegant web site also has a history page, where you can learn a lot about decorative painting, trompe l'oeil and murals.

Finally, don't miss her blog, where she posts on topics as diverse as Ukranian Pysanka and the marbles of the world.

Bible story murals

I'm running low on original mural photos so it's time to go to some sources. In the next little while I'll share with you some of the exciting murals and artists' web sites I've found online.

I'll start today with a couple of Bible illustration mural sites.

This beautiful "Jonah and the Whale" mural was painted by Doug Westbrook, a graphic designer, illustrator and muralist. He and his wife have been the Children's Church directors at Central Baptist Church in Houston Texas for over 15 years.


His web site features 22 more beautiful Bible illustration murals including this striking crucifixion scene.


Find more Bible illustration murals at Bruce Barry's Bible Story Murals.

Mural miscellany

Here are a couple from my miscellaneous file.

This pastel water scene decorates the wall of the swimming pool and water slide in an Edmonton Super 8 motel.




I sometimes wonder how people choose the subjects for murals in various places. Like this Roman style bath-among-the-ruins mural. It's in one of our local shopping malls. Maybe I'm thick, but I don't exactly get the connection with shopping.

Murals of ambience

Restaurant murals add to the ambience. These aren't great shots, but you get the idea.

This street-front mural covers a wall of Dadeo's, a Cajun restaurant in Edmonton Alberta.

This pastoral / architectural ruins scene is from Stella's Tap and Tapas Bar on Commercial Drive in Vancouver. (Not sure what the guy on the left is doing - harvesting some of his brewsky?)

Happy New Year!

"May the Lord fill our sails with fair wind,
support our hulls in inviting seas,
guide our hands upon the tiller toward pleasant places
and bring us home to a safe and loving harbor."

- a traditional maritime blessing quoted in Sidewalks and Sand by Constance Daley

(Murals from West Vancouver)