A Wall of Dogs (and a couple of cats)
I went out for lunch on Sunday with my school-friends group. This time we met at a beachside hotel and ate overlooking the beautiful bay. It was a gorgeous day as well, so everything looked bright and lovely, and on the way we saw a lot of yachts dotting the brilliant blue water with their white sails — we thought it might have been a regatta. Sadly the traffic was very busy and I couldn’t stop to take a photo. But it couldn’t have been a nicer day.
I parked a block or so from the hotel, in a parking area near the local library and a bunch of shops, including a supermarket.
We had a pub lunch — in Australia pub lunches tend to be pretty good. We pretty much all chose different things — fried calamari, grilled barramundi (a delicious fish), smoked salmon salad, steak sandwich, pork ribs, and chicken parmigiana. All were accompanied by delicious fresh salads and chips. And of course, the conversation was excellent— there’s no shortage of topics when we all get together.
After lunch, when we were walking back to the car, we took a different route, winding through a few lanes and back alleys — and we came across this fabulous mural.
It’s made up of different portraits of actual local dogs, each with their name, and it stretches for 34 metres (37 yards). My friend and I stopped and just looked and looked. It made us both smile. The dogs’ personalities really showed.
We only spotted two cats in the mix, one separate from the dogs (which I thought appropriate as some dogs are hostile to cats and vice versa.)
I loved it. I even spotted one dog that looks very much like a friend’s beloved border collie. The only difference is that my friend’s dog usually has a frisbee in his mouth, not a tennis ball. (See the bottom photo) But the expression was spot on.
The mural was painted by Warren J Fox, with the support of the local council and the individual dog owners — the local council contacted dog owners asking if they would like to include their dog/s in the mural – the cost was $100 each. And clearly it was a popular move.
I do love seeing murals that brighten the place, and I loved this one that expressed so much doggy love. Do you have any local murals you like?
Marvelous!
Thanks, Robin.
Wall murals are amazing in their size, ideas, image and how they fit in so well. I have seen some even in the smallest towns here in the US. Seeing an animal or other image suddenly appear on a blank wall as you drive through a town brings a smile and amazement. The talent is so often awesome.
These dogs and cats are so good. I hope they do not get damaged by the kids playing basketball. At least they have an amazing wall to admire.
Thanks, Margot. I doubt there’s enough room for kids to play basketball there, so I think the mural is safe. I love seeing murals cheer up a blank space. As for small country towns, there is a growing trend here to put murals on silos, and they look stunning. It has become quite popular with tourists to create their own tours visiting the various murals and posting about them. And there are more murals being added all the time. I wrote a post about them on the Word Wenches Blog. https://wordwenches.com/silo-art/