Whimsical art is a vibrant and playful style of art that is childlike and carefree. It is characteristically (but not necessarily) bright, colorful, and fun.
The mural depicts four distinct female mermaids in progressive stages of rest and movement. The aquatic life and sea elements are meant to show the awareness of the ocean on the Pacific Coast, as well as provide a setting of transformation. The collaboration between the artists is shown through the interactions of the mermaids on the mural, as a symbol of the female cooperation that brought this mural to life.
Cunningham is a Portland-based artist whose work has been exhibited internationally for the last 20 years. His art deals with themes of environmental degradation, skateboard culture, gentrification, contemporary Indigenous identity and rights. Mostly working with large format murals, Cunningham also uses film and sculpture as mediums, drawing inspiration from his cultural background as a member of the Colville Tribe.
Portland-based artist Toilet Snake painted this skateboarding and pop art-inspired mural for the inaugural Vancouver Mural Festival in 2016, drawing on the rebellious attitude of the adjacent Anti-Social Skateboard Shop to capture the bubbly yet chaotic aesthetic style of 80’s and 90’s skateboard culture.
This mural was the artists first collaboration with goal of blending two distinct styles into a cohesive, hyper-stylized mural. The combination of abstraction, organic shapes, bold colours, and the human form blend the two visions into a singular vision.
Artist’s Statement: “This mural, as a part of the Wall-to-Wall Mentorship, included a youth art workshop with a focus of our connection to the land, water, plants, and animals around us. I used this theme and workshop to develop the mural concept and imagery. I chose to depict Lady Slipper flowers, which are also referred…
The abstract floral is based on my ongoing exploration within my personal work.
On the front wall of Studio North.
This fairy forest mural was commissioned by the BIA and completed in 2019 by ACAD students in partnership with Norfolk Housing Association. Fairy doors compliment this charming mural.
On walls of Bailey Nelson Kensington.
Under 10 Street NW bridge.
This work creates a bridge between my identity as a Metis woman and these waterways, with the intent to recognize both the beauty of the rivers and the importance of these water systems for Indigenous people of our region.
Part of 2023 BUMP GRAFFITI JAM
Part of 2022 BUMP GRAFFITI JAM.
In my design, I create the illusion of an oasis within an urban location. I wanted to commemorate the curious and serendipitous connections made in places of importance which are often overlooked. I chose to reference The Mojave Phone Booth, commenting on liminality and mirroring the history of 11th Ave in many ways.
This mural was designed for Parks Canada to raise awareness for the White Bark Pine Tree- an endangered species in the National Parks. after a National Artist call out that Parks Canada I was so honoured to be chosen to design and paint this mural
Part of YYC BUMP (Beltline Urban Murals Project)
In my conceptual design I challenge the viewers experience through scale and dimension. Through the illusion of flight and colour, I challenge the perception of reality, as I question how surreal it actually is. With negative space in transparent wings, I represent both the source of their survival and path to extinction. Through scale and dimension, I flip the table on intimidation, ultimately putting myself, and the community around me in a lesser position of power, amongst the swarm of survival.
My practice is an investigation into how nature acts as a crossroad for developing concepts such as growth, death, adaptation, and cooperation, and perhaps most importantly, our emotional and physical selves. My work is whimsical, ethereal, playful and vibrant. I am inspired by the interplay between humans and
animals, folklore, myths, and the power of narrative based artwork. I am interested in how images can create worlds that tell stories in which the viewer is invited to free their minds to imagine and fantasize without limitations.
Inspired by the particular architecture of the own buildings.
The Buffalo with the Camp and simple landscape represents all the Buffalo Nations that hunted and lived off the Buffalo. The dragonflies represents the month
of August and also I wanted to tie the Beltline mural project with it…. during August and late July the dragonflies are in full effect and is good to help time the
changes in the seasons. Under them are traditional otter designs which are common design in Treaty7 territory. The riders are youth and elder riding together
representing parenting, mentoring, and the balance.
All together” mural depicts a gathering of funny monsters and robots. The heteroclit crowd tend to celebrate acceptance and the richness of difference and multiculturalism in a fantastic and playful way.
This mural was imagined during the lockdown because that’s when human activity slowed down and nature was able to catch its breath. I represented this return of nature to the city through these two goddesses.
I have a deep appreciation for the place-based nature of murals, so usually when visiting a place to paint a mural I start by getting a sense of the Calgary area including the flora and fauna. I have done this many times, but the process of studying the Calgary ecosystem in Calgary was peculiar because it was so
familiar to me; I had lived in Alberta (including Calgary) for my entire life until I left ten years ago. The beings I was learning about as I spoke to Calgary experts, read books and websites, and walked around Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, including aspen trees, grasses such as grandma’s eyelash, dogwood, and pussy willow, had surrounded me when I was young to the extent that at one point I thought they were everywhere and saw right past them. What I once thought of as ubiquitous is actually very fragile and rare: the grassland ecosystem is among the most endangered in the world due to monocropping (see this photo we took on the way out). These discoveries had me reflecting on how strange and interconnected our lives are and visiting an old city had me doing the same, so I represented this through creating a dense study of plants interlocking with each other. The Calcutta Cricket Club has already created an environment full of lush natural beauty, so it was a nice place to create a mural encouraging passers by to see their natural surroundings with fresh eyes.
Mural for Serena Kwei, Landmark Centre.
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