Tag murals

Alta California

JT Twissel 15 Comments

Having seen most of the state of California, I must admit I feel sorry for anyone who’s never been here. Most people are partial to the southern part of the state where the weather is generally warmer and beaches, long and sandy and crowded with Bay Watch beauties of both sexes, but I prefer the cooler weather. Those tanned and muscled surfers and volley ball players no longer ring my ring-a-ding-ding (I can’t remember if they ever did … that’s how bad it’s getting, folks!)

To many Southern Californians, Santa Barbara is the beginning of the transition from SoCal lifestyle to NorCal lifestyle. I like to tell my daughter that’s because some people in Santa Barbara have actually visited a library.

Boo on Santa Barbara’s pier. She doesn’t think I’m funny.

SB is famous for its Spanish style architecture. There are tons of mosaics.

One of the entrances to the Tide Pool. I believe these are former condos that are now short term rentals but there was no lobby so who knows. I was chasing an eight year old and my phone was dying.

On the side of the Tide Pool.

Below are tile mosaics on the wall surrounding the “whirlpool” at our motel. I guess a whirlpool is a partially enclosed hot tub. Who knows? It was an old motel.

The Santa Barbara Courthouse. (which I believe is now party/wedding venue)
The “Queen of the Missions”

The eight year old had found some lizards to chase so I didn’t get any photos of the whirlpool itself.

Tomorrow … more about the Queen of the Missions and the town they call “Slow.” Any guesses on Slow’s actual name?

A new face #MuralMysteries

JT Twissel 21 Comments

A couple of new critters have been added to the right hand side of the mural.

Can you spot the lizard? And the face? Perhaps if I zoom in.

What’s your guess? A rabbit? Or perhaps a cat?

Meanwhile, on the other side the artist is working on foliage.

Here’s she is from the side clearly enjoying her work.

Across the street, Grasshopper Topper is getting some color.

He’s holding what appears to be the longest carrot ever grown! Although I can’t tell what’s in his other hand … ideas?

I probably won’t have a chance to walk downtown until Saturday … by then some of the mural mysteries will be solved.

Here are shots of the mural as it’s being painted.

Name that otter

JT Twissel 16 Comments

I don’t know who coaxed him back, but the otter has returned to the mural on the side of the library. Maybe he was taking a swim in the nearby creek and realized if he didn’t return, he would miss his moment in the spotlight! Perhaps he just wants a name other than The Orinda Otter.

And the snake now has some greenery to crawl atop. He seems happier.

Here are some interesting facts about otters than might make you want to become an “otter spotter.”

On the other side of the mural, can you spot the snail, butterfly, caterpillar and spider?

I think this little guy is a towhee or a finch or maybe a warbler? He should have a name too, don’t you think?

It’s hard to believe that it’s May. For me, it’s a month that contains far too many birthdays! It’s also the month to firm up all those summer plans. I’ll probably have less and less time to blog but I will try to keep you updated on the progress of the mural. Happy May, everyone.

Favorite Doors of 2019

JT Twissel 24 Comments

For me, one of the bright spots of this year has been Thursday Doors, a  challenge by blogger Norm Frampton that encourages photographers (and those of us who point and click) to share entrances, arches, doors, and even sometimes windows from around the world, both the grand and the not so grand.  Sometimes those entrances have a backstory and sometimes they’re just whatever catches the eye.

My favorite doors from this year were actually garage doors.  I found them in a neighborhood of San Francisco known for its extremely diverse culture:  The Mission District.  Before the 1970s this area was heavily hispanic and not on any tourist’s map.  Then artists and hipsters, attracted by the low rents, began to move in.  They convinced home owners, restaurants and shop keepers to let them brighten otherwise dark and suspicious alleyways with their artwork.

Many of the murals (like the above) have political messages.  Others are whimsical.

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A few had cultural overtones. I don’t know what Che is doing in the above mural but there he is.
Because the Mission District is named after 1776 Mission Dolores, it’s not uncommon to see religious murals. Some are inexplicable.

To see other Mission doors click on any of these links

Finally, this door caught my eye down in San Diego.

The Mission, Part 2: Unity

JT Twissel 17 Comments

Today’s offerings of street art (I like that term) were not painted on garage doors (see Part 1) but on the brick walls of a parking lot. Below is a portrait of residents of the area coming together in unity beneath the black and grey images of the leading voices of Civil Rights movement.

The following murals seem to reflect a much earlier era, however, note the wall and beyond, towns on the hills out of reach.  The graffiti on the wall reads “We didn’t cross the border; the border crossed us.” How true.

It was impossible to capture the following mural without including the top of someone’s car!   Note that, although it appears to depict an Aztec priest holding an orb of some sort, in the lower middle is a man with a backpack. Hum, what to make of that?  (I jest.  That is an actual man with a backpack who somehow got into the picture without me noticing. He shows how large some of these murals are.)

The owners of the Victorian across from the parking lot were obviously trying to blend in.

Below are images that I really couldn’t make sense of.  Can you?

Next time some of the more whimsical murals.

 

The Mission, Part 1

JT Twissel 18 Comments

Alleys are generally not on a tourist’s “must see” list.  In fact they’re generally on the “do not enter” list.  Muggers and bums live in alleys.  Trashcans overflow in alleys.  Drug dealers hang like vampire bats in alleys.  But in an area of San Francisco known as The Mission and famous for the annual Castro Street faire and the Brazilian inspired Carnaval  a network of alleyways is slowly becoming a must-see.

These are someone’s garage doors.  Most of the homes and businesses in this area back up to alleys, providing a graffiti artist’s paradise. 

And then gradually the area began to attract muralists.

Because this area is heavily hispanic, many of the garage doors are blessed by the Holy Mother.

Many of the murals cover not only the garage doors but the entire back and sides of buildings and the alleys are narrow.

Thus it’s difficult for a spot-and-click photographer such as myself to get the entire image. The garage doors are beneath the GG Bridge.

Many of the murals have political or socioeconomic  messages.

This one pertains to the Palestinian struggle although I’m not sure what the arrows on the right mean – no way out?

Okay – these are the best from the first alley.  There are three more to go.  Checkout other doors over at Norm Frampton’s ThurdayDoor event.