Murals – Page 2 – Travels with Ali

Margaret River Meanderings

Leaving Albany around 11 am we made our way to Margaret River where we were meeting up with some friends for the night. The journey was approximately 4 hours, so with a stop for lunch we hoped to be there by 4. We had a quick lunch in Manjimup and then we were back on the road again.
This time the Chauffeur wanted a rest, the nerve on him! Anyway I did take over the wheel and having never driven the Mercedes before I was a bit nervous, but as we had the road to ourselves and it was long and straight I thought I might be able to manage it. I didn’t take into account the fact that I’m the one who map reads but the Chauffeur likes to follow the sun! Maybe he was Christoper Columbus in his other life. So needless to say we did take a wrong turn, adding another half an hour or more onto our journey. I did miss a turning and managed to do a U-turn, narrowly missing a curb while quickly checking nothing was coming the other way.

By the time we arrived it was 4.30 pm, after checking in, we had a quick meander to the river.

We were staying in the heart of Margaret River, very close to the main drag and all the restaurants and cafes.

For dinner that night we ate at Morries Restaurant, a very lively and busy place a few minutes walk up the street from our accommodation.

Enjoying cocktails and wine with good friends

We shared a few plates of delicious food and also a few more glasses of wine.

The next morning after a fitful night, due to the wind, rain and gum nuts falling onto the corrugated iron roof, we headed off to the cafe nearby for breakfast.

**Putting the world to rights, once again!**

A walk up and down the main street before heading back to Perth was all we had time for, but enough time for me to take photos of the stunning murals along the way.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”
African Proverb

Both of these beautiful dog portraits are by an artist known as “Hope Perth”, also known as Brendan. There are many of his wonderful works of art throughout WA.

Another by Hope Perth

Artists Ian Mutch and Jack Bromell, along with Wadandi Elder and award-winning artist Sandra Hill, created the mural to represent Wadandi Country and the local flora and fauna.
Artists

“Nothing Behind Me, Everything Ahead Of Me, As Is Ever So On The Road.” – Jack Kerouac

Thanks for joining me on this mini road trip, we had the best time, especially when good friends join us too.

🎨 Art and About in Subiaco, Western 🎨Australia

On a visit to Subiaco recently I saw there were some great new murals, so I went back the other day and did a walkabout and spotted a few more. I also took snapshots of sculptures which I’ve always admired.

The featured image is called “Sky’s Chorus” by Clare MacFarlane and shows a migrating flock of Carnaby Black Cockatoos.

From the same wall, quite difficult to get a shot of the whole wall down the alley.

**Subiaco was built on a Sunday** – **Artist: Melski McVee**

**The Boy on the Red Bike – Artist Evoca1**

God’s Chair aka
Arrive to Paradise – **Ayad Alqaragholli**

The artist’s statement for God’s Chair : God’s Seat…with an angel on each shoulder, decisions being made about who gets into paradise ..

**Artist – Robert Jenkins “Works for Walls Programme”**

I enjoyed my afternoon walk in Subiaco, reacquainting myself with this suburb. It was like a ghost town during covid plus the landlords decided to get greedy! Many places shut down, but on this Friday afternoon it was buzzing with weekend drinks starting early. I noticed too that the “Sip and Paint” bars are becoming very popular. Also called Canvas and Cabernet, where you paint a masterpiece with a brush in one hand and a drink in the other, sounds like such a fun experience.

My favourite mural here is “Boy on a Red Bike” – how about your’s?

Posted as part of PPAC by Marsha at Always Write.

A Family Trip to Melbourne – Part Three – Lunch at Mornington Peninsula

With the weekend upon us it meant Laurence and Maddy were able to join us for a day out. We all fancied a winery but with so many in Victoria where to go, North, South or East? After some research we decided to wing it and try one in the South East, Mornington Peninsula. Well our first choice didn’t work out which was Foxey’s Hangout, but the carpark attendant suggested we try the sister winery around 15 minutes up the road, called Morning Sun Vineyard. There wasn’t much sun around but plenty of wine.

The menu was short and tapas style so we just ordered every item! Sadly I forgot to take many photos of the food as it disappeared all too quickly. The staff and service were excellent and you could taste any wine. The location was just perfect and it was very cosy inside.

A luscious Shiraz for three and a “flight of whites” for me.

**An almost perfectly quartered photo** – **Cows galloping across the field**

Another fractioned photo!

A wonderful way to spend a Saturday, family, food and wine

On the drive home we passed by a stunning mural on a water tank, so I jumped out and took a few photos. Located on Arthurs Seat Road it was painted by Michael Leeworthy. It depicts life in Arthurs Seat and is a tribute to the local firefighters. I’m linking it to PPAC.

🎨 London Street Art 🎨

One for Monday Mural. This is a recent photo I took while In London a few weeks ago. It is very near Whitechapel High Street and painted by Insa, whose works can be seen all over the world.

Something to brighten up an old wall!

Posted as part of Monday Mural hosted by Sami at ColourfulWorld

~ Enjoying Essex – Canvey Island Esplanade ~

The last time I visited Canvey Island was around 40 years ago, and then that was only at night to a nightclub or disco as it was called then, The Goldmine! It was a regular haunt for many years, such fun nights were had.

I have recently downloaded an app called Go Jauntly, which gives you different walks in whatever location you are in.

The walk I am taking you along in this post is along the Esplanade on Canvey Island to take a look at the murals on the sea wall. The Esplanade is lined with benches and each one is dedicated to a loved one with an engraved plaque. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did and maybe you will have a favourite.

The three murals below depict the changes on Canvey Island over the decades. The sun was out therefore so was my shadow!

The murals are all about the things in life for whom the mural was painted for.

**A beautiful carefree life shown in the above mural.**

My favourite

All of these murals are so intricately drawn and beautifully painted, and have stood the test of time. Unlike many murals I have seen there is no graffiti anywhere to be seen.

My favourite is the ship with the elegant dancers in the foreground, did you have one?

It was a lovely sunny day and I also took the opportunity to snap some photos of the views from the Esplanade. They are interesting more than picturesque! Mud flats and rocks as far as the eye can see with an oil tanker in the far distance.

Multi coloured rowing boats

Click to enlarge above photos

Canvey Island

It is separated from the mainland of south Essex by a network of creeks. Lying only just above sea level, it is prone to flooding at exceptional tides and has been inhabited since the Roman conquest of Britain. A flood in 1953 from the North Sea devastated the island, killing 58 islanders and leading to the temporary evacuation of the 13,000 residents. It is now protected by modern sea defences comprising 2 miles (3.2 km) of concrete sea walls. Between 1911 and 1951 it was a popular seaside resort.

As much as it is residential here there are large oil tanks on the island and it is noted for the relationship with the petrochemical industry. Source – Wikipedia

As is our habit on these outings we always end up at a pub, and today was no exception! My dear husband stopped a lady walking her dog and asked her for a recommendation. She suggested The Lobster Smack.

Such a wonderfully old pub to end our walk with lunch, a pint and a cold white wine.

It is said that there has been a pub on this site since the 1580’s and was believed to have been a model for Dickens’ Sluice Farm in Great Expectations. I found a very interesting history of this pub in this link – The Lobster Smack.

I hope you enjoyed this walk along the Esplanade with me. I’ve been very cheeky and linked it to a few challenges below.

Marsha’s Photographing Public Art
Xingfu Mama’s Pull-Up-A-Seat
Jez’s Water-Water-Everywhere
Hammad’s Weekend Sky

Market Murals and Real People

This is the second post showing murals from the town of Basildon. There is a market area with many different stalls and small cafes and dotted around are miniature murals of the various stallholders. They are very cute and I managed to get a couple of photos of the actual people.

Marta and Kay from Marta’s Chimney Cafe. Such a gorgeous little cafe where I enjoyed a delicious home made Chicken and Veg Soup. In the summer they dress up in these cute red dresses.

**A very jolly Watch Repairer – Back and Front view**

I thought these would be appropriate for the Public Art Challenge, Lens-Artist’s Double-Dipping and Thursday Doors. Hoping the pingbacks work!

PPAC – #27 – Murals from my Neighbourhood

For this week’s PPAC I have a few from local outings.

We went out for lunch last week to a nearby suburb and I said to my hubby “I wonder if there are any murals I haven’t seen” and as I turned around there was this beautiful one staring right at me!

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

And here’s a fabulous one by Perth’s very own Stormie Mills

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Surfers at Cottesloe

This is painted onto the side of the Surf Life Saving Club. I like how it blends into the sea and sky.

A Road Trip to Pemberton and Margaret River, Western Australia – First Day

We left Perth on a Sunday morning for an overnight stay in Pemberton. Stopping for lunch in the vibrant green Ferguson Valley and then for a look at the fabulous Wellington Dam Mural. The journey takes around 4 hours from Perth, Pemberton is located in the South Western region of Western Australia.

Lunch was at St. Aiden’s Winery, and we shared a couple of dishes. This was a beautiful winery and one that we had never visited before.

After lunch we headed over to the Wellington Dam Mural located just outside of Collie, WA.

The mural is called Reflections and is the largest mural in the world painted by renowned world artist Guido Van Helten. He spent three weeks talking to locals and also staying in an Aboriginal community to get a sense of what they would like to see painted. If you would like to read more of this story click on the link Reflections

Individual images of the mural. What an amazing feat this is and it was well worth the detour to look at this awesome mural.

The time was ticking on and we still had another two hours drive ahead of us, or should I say dear husband did!

I had booked a placed called Forest Lodge Resort, one because it looked nice and two as it had a restaurant attached so Anthony didn’t have to drive anymore that night and could enjoy a drink or three!

We arrived just after 5pm and it was still light so as soon as we had checked our room we went for a walk around the grounds. We got an upgrade!

From our walk around the lake

A Giant Californian Sequoia Redwood planted in 1935

By this time it was happy hour so we headed over to the bar and restaurant for a drink before dinner.

The resort is owned by a German couple. Ingo is also the cook, hence the name of the restaurant – Chef Ingo’s. Their daughter Selina seems to be receptionist/waitress/and jack of all trades. Service was impeccable and Selina was a delight.

Dinner was quite salty, so just drank more wine to quench our thirst!

We had a relaxing and very enjoyable overnight stay here, and we will definitely be back again. Tomorrow Margaret River beckons with a few stops along the way.

🦘Murals of Australian Native Animals🦘

On a recent trip to Kalgoorlie I saw some fabulous murals of Australian Native Animals. Kalgoorlie has recently tried to brighten up the town with some wonderful murals. Although there are some who seem against this idea as I saw many that were defaced with graffiti and other damage. A great shame.

These bright and colourful murals decorate the walls of the local Coles in Kalgoorlie. I believe they were painted by local artists Em Anders and Jason Dimer.

Jason Dimer

Jason Dimer comes from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and is the son of the late Mr Neil Dimer who was an important leader and artist from the Goldfields region. Presently Jason lives and works in Kalgoorlie and his paintings depict traditional Dreamtime stories that have been passed down to Jason from his tribe. These stories include the rainbow serpent and men’s stories. Jason also paints stories of his mother’s country – Source: Creative Native

Em Anders

“Nature in all its beauty is life giving and inspirational .. I can’t help but want to paint it”
Source: Art Lovers Australia

Posted as part of Monday Mural for Sami at ColourfulWorld

On the trail of Art, Westonia, Western Australia

On our way back to Perth from Kalgoorlie we made a quick stop at Westonia. Just a tiny town off the main highway with a population of under 300. This was a cute little place and I loved the way the people have made the most of the history there.

Established in 1911 by Alfred Weston after the discovery of gold was found in the area. By 1917 there was a population of 2,000. Westonia has won Tidy Towns twice in the last twenty years.

There is a caravan park, a good place for an overnight stay for the “Grey Nomads” travelling around Australia in their camper vans and caravans. Also there is a small gift shop/cafe and Post Office/Supermarket/Cafe.

A very well kept street, so neat and tidy

Where the old Fire and Ambulance Stations once stood

We hoped to have lunch here but unfortunately they were just closing, but the Post Mistress was there delivering their mail and she very kindly offered to make us some rolls at the Post Office. Country town hospitality at its best.