Orca on display

This decorative orca lives at the Victoria ferry terminal (Tsawwassan departure). It's part of the "Orcas In the City" project which raised over $400,000 for charity in 2004. It's beautiful from every angle.

Totem Town

(Click on photo to enlarge)

This Victoria mural depicts a scene from the past, when aboriginal communities ringed the coast and elaborately carved canoes were the main mode of marine transportation. The settlement in this mural reminds me of what you'd have found in the northern interior of BC, say around Hazelton.

Fish Beware!

(Click on photo to enlarge)

I love the shocked look in the eyes of these fishies in this stylish back alley mural (Victoria BC). I wonder if it has anything to do with the business next door. Worse yet, maybe they watched the videos!

Critters and Sir Hornswoggle

This is some of the company you'll have as you explore the Port Alberni waterfront. (In fact, when I first encountered Sir Hornswoggle on the pier, I was sure he was fellow sighseer.)

Alberni - nautical

This mural, also in Port Alberni, commemorates a sea disaster. On Monday, January 22, 1906, the coastal passenger liner SS Valencia, en route from San Francisco to Seattle, was wrecked on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island (near Bamfield) and 136 people perished.

Gray's Whales mural

In Port Alberni we saw a mural with another kind of whale. This mural of Gray's Whales was painted by Jeff King.

Parksville killer whales

But killer whales aren't popular only on northern Vancouver Island. These are swimming around Parksville

Port Hardy killer whales - 4

These beauties were swimming amongst the flower hangers at the front of the grocery store

Port Hardy killer whales - 3

Here's another chubby black-and-white cutie. (They do look cute, don't they - water pandas!)

Port Hardy killer whales - 2

I love the interesting effect of the killer whale mural painted on the truck trailer displayed against the ocean in the background - somewhat surrealistic.

Port Hardy killer whales - 1

A favorite north Vancouver Island subject of murals is the killer whale. In Port Hardy, we saw them everywhere.

Here is one painted on the school.



(Notice the muralist Razmpoosh - who also painted these Agassiz murals.)

Ink Island

What a colorful, surreal place. (Notice the red bird on left side of the building.)

The beavers are coming!

Yikes, these furry creatures look big enough to take on the cars! I think they're beavers. It's a shame so much of the painting is hidden by vehicles.

Faux storefronts

I think these fake store windows with their old-fashioned merchandise are fun. They're also from Courtenay.

Native roots

This mural, also from Courtenay, reflects the First Nations part in the history of Vancouver Island.

Harbour scene

Can't you just hear the gulls and smell the sea? This beautiful painting is of the historic Courtenay waterfront.

Hidden in plain sight

After our time at Powell River last September, we took the ferry to Vancouver Island and Courtenay - Comox.

This landscape featuring flowers decorated the tops of the stores down one of the streets in Courtenay. It's a a beautiful painting and a pity it isn't more in-your-face.

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Deep woods find

I've been meaning to wake up this mural blog for a while now. Though I haven't photographed many new murals lately, it is the season when I'm again in the mood for murals and mural hunting. I'll try to post new murals twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays)

We'll start with a few that have been moldering in my collection, just waiting for their moment in the spotlight.

We came upon this primitively painted storage tank on our vacation last year, as we hiked through the forest from the north to south side of Savary Island (nearest city - Powell River).



As I said, I'll be posting murals twice a week now (Mondays and Thursdays) so come back often to see what's new!

Nooks and crannies of Vernon

Here are a few more murals we discovered on our trip to Vernon last summer. These aren't on any tour brochures, and I don't know the artists, but they are lovely street surprises nevertheless.

Powell River - photo memorabilia

Here are a few Powell River murals that look like they jumped right out of someone's photo album.

"1910 Unidentified Fisherman"

"Sole Survivor 1911 Herman Roesch"

"William (Billy Goat) Smith CA. 1932"


We thought the sign above the butcher shop was cute.

Powell River - where the logging is legendary

I did not know Paul Bunyan and his blue ox were connected to this place...

Who will buy?

Along the same Kelowna walk you'll find these delightful mosaics - replicas of old-fashioned fruit adverts.

Fruity sculptures

Happy New Year!

... and high time to ogle more murals and public art.

If you're like me, you're ready for the end of winter (even though it's barely begun). In defiance of all the snow, I'm putting up some photos from July to help me remember - this too shall pass.

You'll find these fruity sculptures in Kelowna, near the downtown lakefront part of town (sorry - I don't know the street coordinates).

Hetland Christmas murals

Every Christmas Concordia College in Moorhead Minnesota does a program of choral music. For years, they have performed that program against the backdrop of a 20 x 60-foot painted Christmas mural reflecting that year's theme. For at least 13 of those years David Hetland designed stunning murals for those concerts, then supervised the volunteers who painted them.

"Star of Wonder" - the theme in 2000.

A book - On Our Way Rejoicing - gives us a behind-the-scenes look at these concerts, including the mural-making process. Here is a page from the book.

"The Lord is My Shepherd" is the mural from 2004.

Go here to see more Hetland murals.

He also designed and created stained glass and mosaics.

David Hetland died in 2006. (Maybe we'll see more of his amazing artistry beyond the pearly gates.)

****************

10-01-09 Update:

It seems that the 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. 

Mysterious monster

Nha-a-tik - Ogopogo - 2003
2704 Highway 6, west-facing wall





Lake Okanagan's famous and mysterious monster has been around a long time. Sightings go back to the 1860s.

This bold, green mural has to be my favorite of all the Vernon murals. Isn't it imaginative and just plain fun?

With this monster mural we've come to the end of the Vernon mural series. I hope you've enjoyed them. Kudos to Vernon for giving us such wonderful street art!