More Mural Magic-Part 2

tanjabrittonwriter 51 Comments

I will dedicate an occasional post to murals I have encountered during my forays in Colorado. Each will be introduced by the featured photo above, which also depicts a mural from a local coffee shop in Manitou Springs, our direct neighbor to the west, and which offers an interpretation of the Colorado State flag, shown here:

The two horizontal blue bars represent Colorado’s blue sky, the white bar its many snowcapped mountains. The red “C” stands for our state’s ruddy soil, and the central golden globe for our many days of sunshine, averaging more than 300/year.

In today’s post, I am showing paintings that highlight various facets of our state, ranging from the very practical to the very whimsical.

Colorado without horses is a thing unimaginable. Bingo’s Saddle Shop in Colorado Springs has sold saddles and other equipment for both Western and English riding styles since 1929.

The quintessential Western scene.

Poor Richard’s in downtown Colorado Springs started out as a used book store but has since expanded to include a pizzeria, wine bar, and delightful toy store.

This fisherman’s dream mural graces a wall in the little town of Buena Vista, about 70 miles west of Colorado Springs. I don’t think it adorns a fishing shop, but it should.

Not a fisherman’s dream, but a cow’s. 🙂 Seen on a wall in the little town of La Veta, about 110 miles south of Colorado Springs.

If you have missed my previous posts about murals, or would like to revisit them, please follow the links below:

Mural Magic

More Mural Magic-Part 1

In Harmony With Nature

51 thoughts on “More Mural Magic-Part 2”

  5. While so many of us have been mostly immured for months, it’s good of you to have ridden out and rounded up these murals. We could say “Bingo!” for the cleverness of the saddle shop’s trompe-l’oeil mural.

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    • If I had been as witty as you, I would have incorporated the word immured, Steve. It really made me smile. And I second your comment about the saddle shop’s mural. It’s very cleverly and eye-deceivingly done.

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  8. Schöööön!
    Wandmalereien gibt es Weltberühmte seit Anbeginn der Menschheit möchte man meinen.
    Heute war ich lange am Colorado.
    Hab mir die vielen analogen Fotos vom Mann auf dem Colorado angeschaut.
    Er hat dort eine neuntägige Raftingtour mit Freunden vor langer Zeit erlebt.
    Schade, dass es die digitale Fotografie damals noch nicht gab.
    Liebe Grüße
    Brigitte

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    • Vielen Dank, liebe Brigitte. An die Tatsache, daß die Menschheit anscheinend schon immer leere Wände bemalt hat, hat mich noch jemand erinnert. Das verbindet uns mit unseren Vorgängern.

      Es ist ja toll, daß Dein Mann schon auf dem Colorado Fluß unterwegs war. Heutzutage ist das teilweise gar nicht mehr so einfach, besonders, wenn man durch den Grand Canyon will. Man muß sich schon monate-, wenn nicht jahrelang anmelden, und dann wird per Los entschieden, wer auf den Fluß darf. Es gibt leider überall zu viele Menschen. Wie schön, daß er das noch erleben konnte, als die Gegend noch nicht so überlaufen war.

      Herzliche Grüße an Euch all nach Bremen aus dem zu heißen Colorado. 😦
      Tanja

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      • Oha. So ist das heute?
        Ja, Sie sind damals am South Rim abgestiegen und haben unten in Gesellschaft von Skorpionen und Klapperschlangen übernachtet.
        Ich glaube, wir hatten Glück, dass wir noch so viel erleben durften. Eine Nilkreuzfahrt würde ich heute auch nicht mehr machen wollen und die Arktis mir Riesenschiffen bereisen wäre auch nicht mein Wunsch. Ja, da haben wir doch noch eine gute Zeit erlebt, scheint mir.
        Hier isses kühl und auch nass.
        Ich mag das.
        Komm gut durch die Hitze, liebe Tanja.
        Liebe Grüße
        Brigitte

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    • Thank you, Almuth. I’m always amazed, too, but I have no drawing/painting skills. You, on the other hand, would likely be a wonderful muralist if you tried. You would only have to transfer your drawings and paint them on a little larger canvas! 🙂

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      • Ich wunderte mich gerade, daß du auf Englisch antwortest. Ich habe gar nicht gemerkt, daß ich auf Englisch kommentiert hatte 😀 – Ich finde, daß ist schon ein Unterschied. Ich könnte vielleicht etwas transferieren, aber so wie diese Leute könnte ich das nicht. Und dann noch mit diesen Spraydosen so präzise zu arbeiten, echt bewundernswert. Jeder hat andere Talente 🙂

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  11. Those are great works of art, Tanja. We’ve had a few around here but I haven’t thought to photograph them. This one depicts the history of women in Northampton, MA. Northampton also allows artists to paint the side of a railroad bridge (now part of a rail trail) that crosses one of the main roads in town…aptly called Main Street, which has a low underpass and the mural has to be repaired or replaced periodically as the overpass is known as The Truck Eating Bridge. 🙂

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    • Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed a small selection of our local and regional murals. I have only started to pay attention to wall art for a couple of years, but am growing fonder of it all the time.
      Kindest regards,
      Tanja

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    • Thank you, Donna. I share in your enjoyment of murals. They are such public canvases available to anybody and are often so expressive and elucidating. It’s always a treat to discover a new one, especially if it’s close by.

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    • I’m glad you enjoyed them, Jolandi. I have also grown very fond of murals in the last several years.
      We are doing ok, but are incredulous about what is happening across the country. I hope you and Michael are hanging in there, too!
      Best wishes,
      Tanja

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      • We are, thank you, Tanja. We are still only venturing out when it is absolutely necessary. I do think it is better to err on the side of caution. It is anyway so hot here at the moment that being outside is unpleasant, and we are not big on shopping malls anyway. Stay safe.

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  17. I’m especially fond of the toy store mural. After all, I grew up with the yellow rubber duckie, the spinning top, the teddy bear, and the jack-in-the-box. But the more I looked at it, the more I grinned. First I noticed the armadillo, and then — well, look at the human face next to it. That certainly looks like a stylized image of Willie Nelson to me!

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    • I’m happy the mural brought back memories of some favorite childhood toys, Linda. And I’m also at your attention to detail (more than mine, I have to admit). 🙂
      And who is to say that there isn’t a hidden homage to Willie Nelson!

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