More Mural Magic-Part 4

tanjabrittonwriter 44 Comments

I dedicate an occasional post to murals I have encountered during my forays in Colorado. Each is introduced by the featured photo above, which depicts a mural from a local coffee shop in Manitou Springs directly west of Colorado Springs. It 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.

Today’s post is composed of nature murals which stopped me in my tracks. I hope they will do the same to you.

Sunflowers covering the entire side of a two-story private residence in Colorado Springs

Colorful bear on the wall of an art gallery in Manitou Springs

Flowers decorating the wall of an art gallery in Manitou Springs

Bird and waterfall inside the Mate Factor café in Manitou Springs

Bananacat by Cymon Padilla on the side of a business in downtown Colorado Springs, created for Arts on the Street in 2019

Private residence in Colorado Springs

Private residence in Colorado Springs

Bighorn Sheep/Mountain Sun by Brenda Biondo on the side of a parking garage in downtown Colorado Springs, created for Arts on the Street in 2022 (YWCA and City Hall visible in the background)

Grey Wolf by Brenda Biondo on the side of a business in downtown Colorado Springs, created for Arts on the Street in 2023

44 thoughts on “More Mural Magic-Part 4”

  1. Thank you, Tanja, for more wonderful murals. All lovely in their own way, but in particular the playful cat (which makes me smile), the colourful bear (which makes me happy) and the grey wolf (which makes me sad, because it’s a poignant memorial to a species that has been lost to your part of the US). I love murals!

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  3. These are very powerful images, Tanja. I think of those urban areas “decorated” with graffiti, and how it – the graffiti – takes something away from us – or me at least when I see it. But these must add something as you encounter them.

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  5. For three of the murals you credited the creator. I assume that in the other cases you weren’t able to track down the people who created them.

    In the last mural, Brenda Biondo wrote each sentence twice. I wonder why she didn’t replace the second occurrence of each with a different sentence offering more information about the grey wolf.

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    • That’s well observed, Steve. I don’t think most of the private murals have signatures, or if they do, I couldn’t see them, which makes it hard to give proper credit.
      I don’t know why the artist of the wolf mural chose to use repetition over additional information, but the space for writing is very limited and symmetry might have had something to do with it.

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  12. My favorite is the first painting of the sunflowers. The drooping leaves are perfectly rendered, and there’s even a lady bug! I did wonder if the same artist painted the other mural that includes sunflowers. Both are on private residences, and it’s fun to imagine that person B saw person A’s sunflowers and said, “I want some of those!”

    I’ve not noticed any building murals around here, but the large utility boxes (telephone? electricity? cable?) found on various corners are being decorated now. I saw one covered with magnificent magnolia flowers yesterday — it was so lovely.

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    • Thank you, Linda. I also love that sunflower. I first saw it when I was birding in a certain Colorado Springs neighborhood and it stopped me in my tracks. Sadly for the owners of this mural, someone built a house on the empty lot right next to the wall in question, which definitely lessens the mural’s impact on the observer.
      Colorado Springs did the same to utility boxes in the downtown area as your home town and I think it’s a wonderful idea. What a relatively simple way to spread some cheer!

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  13. Lots to see here, Tanja! I love Brenda Biondos beautiful and arresting animals as saints/ martyrs, What a wonderful stained glass look she created! The private homes really call me up short, as well, There is something so real about them.
    I love your state flag. Massachusetts is in the middle of updating our flag, finally. Here’s more than you probably wanted to know about that:

    Home


    Best,
    Julie

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    • Thank you, Julie, I’m so glad you enjoyed the murals. I’m impressed that you noticed the halo around the heads of the Bighorn Sheep and Wolf, as well as the stained glass appearance of the creations. It’s likely no coincidence for the artist to portray the animals that way. In the write-up that accompanies each mural, it says this about the artist: “[she] fosters deeper connections between people and nature” and “her public artworks…reference traditional stained-glass windows to elevate the perceived status of animals and nature.”

      Thank you also for the information about the new design for the MA flag. I think it’s great for the state to acknowledge the very one-sided view portrayed by the current flag and seal and to attempt to be more fair and inclusive.

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    • Thank you for your comment, Sharon. I think most the murals I see are on public buildings, but I’m always delighted to find one on a private residence. I love the fact that some owners enhance their homes and the neighborhood with these pieces of art.

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  18. These are wonderful. I love the sunflowers with their shadows and the detail of the ladybird. The other one that really impresses me is the wolf (the sheep too) – Brenda Biondo’s work is beautiful.

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    • Thank you, Ann, I’m glad you enjoyed the murals.
      The sunflowers with all its realistic details (plus the tiny ladybird) is also one of my favorites and I agree to your assessment of Brenda Biondo’s work. Her animals are gorgeous and are imbued with special charisma.

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  21. Those sunflowers are absolutely amazing (with a nice lady bug as well) – such talent and in a place that can be shared by others. We are somewhat limited in our murals around our nearby cities thanks to city ordinances, but there are some nice ones in the small towns scattered around us here in the rural areas. You have given me the idea to maybe feature them sometime.

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    • I think it’s wonderful if someone wants to adorn one of their house walls with a beautiful painting, but, as we know, people’s notions of what is beautiful differ widely, which is maybe why those ordinances came about.
      I hope you will feature the murals from your neck of the woods!

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