Romancing the wall Photo

Photographer’s Note

It always fascintes me how people paint on huge house walls and produce little or many times big art works. I mean I can hardly paint on a piece of paper :))) and probably for this reason it still amazes me on what huge area they produce something that looks beautiful and precise and how they see the measures on such a huge scale. I guess the window beside the guitar player gives you a little idea of the size. The picture was taken in Denver last year and I felt that the painting gives something of a South-Western flair back that you might find and the music stations you hear while driving through the West. I am not very much into country music and some of the main stream stuff that is played on these stations even drive me a little crazy at times but once in a while you find true treasures and you feel the soul of this music coming out of your radio. Yeah I guess this painting brings something of this feeling back when you drive on almost empty roads, sometimes overtaken by a harley driver or one of these huge trucks or a camper on the way to the parks … at least for me.

euryan, KLB, Colombiana, gunbud, Floydian, rasto1893, fulvio52, IgorDeleze, avene, plimrn, crhieatt, Sistercosmo, ciakgiak, ChrisJ, Photo65Net, albertojr, Wanda1, Flavia, MarianneS has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

euryan (8345) 2009-04-05 11:01

Good clean composition. The overall tan color scheme is very appealing too. The inclusion of the satellite dish is nice little detail. Great capture.

mmohan (280) 2009-04-05 11:12

Hi Barbara,
Great art, as you say. Well spotted by you. I like the colours are all similar to each other, TFS,
Manoj

Nicou (44491) 2009-04-05 11:17

Hello Barbara,

une bien belle image de joueur de guitare est superbe, quelle belle petinture sur cette maison, et ton cadrage est parfait.

Bravo et amitié

Nicou

KLB (17978) 2009-04-05 11:39

Hello Barbara

Great eye to discover this marvelous art work. You've brought it in a very good way.
Your framing is really effective, and the light managment is perfect to appreciate the beautiful color harmony and each detail of the musician.
I really like this picture. Like you, I haven't the gift of art, so I am very admiring for all these great figures.
Thanks also for your pleasant note.

Regards
Karine

brandstaetter (13972) 2009-04-05 11:40

Hallo Barbara,
das hier hat eine schöne Harmonie.. in den Linien wie auch in den Farben. Gefällt mir...
schade dass Du nicht in Venedig dabei warst, Du hast ja einen Flieger und Treviso einen Flughafen :)
vielleicht das nächste Mal...
LG Christian

Colombiana (2542) 2009-04-05 18:28

Hey Barbara,

Graffiti, wall paintings and street art in general often represent the culture or subculture (s) of the cities we visit. One can definitely expect a western-country influence in states such as Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas.

Last year, 2 friends and I drove from Miami to Beaver Creek, CO—about 100 miles west of Denver. The deal was that the driver got to play the music she/he wanted. Of course we were all taking turns. The thing is that I didn’t realize how much one of my friends LOVED country music. She would not let anybody drive on our way back and of course she kept playing pure old country songs I never heard in my life and that I absolutely hated.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪Upper middle class white trash, my pockets cant hold all my cash, 'cause one day I stopped to pee, got some gas and won the lottery, now I've invested in my neighborhood, my friends and family, there all livin' pretty good, a trailer park full of Cadillacs, an upper middle class white trash. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

Barbara, we crossed CO, the entire wide state of Kansas all the way to St. Louis, MO just listening to nothing but country music stations and lyrics similar to the one above! I reached the point when I really considered jumping from her truck. ;))

Take care,
Maryori

gunbud (27763) 2009-04-05 18:39

Hi Barbara,
I wonder if Fulvio modeled for the mural art? Being an affable fellow a few cold beers would of been pay enough.
Wonderful southwestern flavor right down to the crack in his 10-gallon hat.
Rich textue to this weather worn art seen in great clarity and details.
I Wonder what happed to the top of his hat?
Regards, Tom

Floydian (30970) 2009-04-06 0:34

Guten morgen Barbara,

It almost looks like a 3D painting, standing in front of it must even look more impressive than on this picture. I like it how the pole is sticking out of his head, looks like the maker made him a bit to large ;-)
A good one, especially to enhance that 3D feeling, i like this.

Regards,

Henk

ktanska (16514) 2009-04-06 1:26

Hi Barbara,
Interesting wall painting no doubt strongly attached to the local culture. But it's the little details that attach this to reality that make this interesting as a photo. The window, pole sticking out of the hat, satellite dish. And a few spots where paint has peeled off making obscure details.
Kari

BlueRaven (35) 2009-04-06 3:56

Hallo liebe Barbara,

na, hast du am Samstag Utah gesehen? Ich wäre am liebsten in den Fernseher hineingekrochen...
An diesem Wandgemälde bin ich auch schon vorbeigelaufen, aber ich hatte kein besonders gutes Licht, um es zu fotografieren... Um so mehr freut es mich, es hier zu sehen! Schön, daß du auch ein bißchen von der Umgebung mit einbezogen hast, und wie Ryan sagte, die Beigetöne harmonieren wunderbar miteinander.

Liebe Grüße, eine schöne Woche
Claudia

rasto1893 (1752) 2009-04-06 8:10

Hello Barbara,
A very nice capture , In first i thought that is real is fascinating this kind of art and you have captured it really well, good composition good photo and nice view
My best Regards
Rastislav

fulvio52 (8314) 2009-04-06 9:10

Hi, Barbara.
You got a keen eye and an uncanny ability in spotting out The Unusual America and present it to us in your very own personal way. I can see you go for something different as I can see there's a DIFFERENT kind of philosophy in primis and great technicals second behind all of your shots. Incidentally : a little philosophy alone would be already more than good enough for me, as I love shots that TELL A TALE and consider the technical aspect as a somehow necessary evil... Great job, love it! Have a nice evening, it's 18 degrees & open windows over here. HUGS,
Fulvio.

IgorDeleze (9247) 2009-04-06 10:05

Hello Barbara,
Your view from your balcon is also nice ;o)
Nice architecture detail.
Greetings.
Igor

avene (10940) 2009-04-06 11:19

hi Barbara,
it could easily have been a snapshot of a wall painting, but the way you have included the satelite dish, the window, the chimney, adds a poster-like quality, I quite like it. the colours feel sun-bleached, makes me think about lazy and buzzing summer afternoons, while it's heavily raining in NYC :)

take care,
Kristine

rlrad (1187) 2009-04-06 18:09

Hi Barbara,

I, too, am impressed with artwork created in mural form on the sides of buildings, barns, bridges, you name it. We have so much of that stuff in the US. I took a shot yesterday in downtown St. Louis, I hope to post it soon - you have given me the inspiration to try to put it up tomorrow. This one is well taken - it does capture some of the essence of the southwestern US, too. I might have had to clone out the DirecTV satellite dish, though, just to keep the modern appliances out of the picture... although you can hardly look at any structure in the US anymore without one. At least they shrunk them from those 6 and 8 foot behemoths that used to populate every rural yard for so many years.

Have a good one!
Reed Radcliffe
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

plimrn (19600) 2009-04-06 19:05

Perfect title too.
The painting brings back the feeling of the old West for me as well. Larry's favorite cowboy photo is a cowboy with skis, since most of our wild west trips have been ski trips.
HLJ, Pat

aadilj (17950) 2009-04-07 2:10

The colour scheme in this one is rather sombre and very serene Barbara and I like the way you have composed the shot

crhieatt (5143) 2009-04-07 2:48

Barbara,

This is an enjoyably surreal capture. It's hard to pass up on a good mural, and I think you framed this in a good way, using the painting as part of an overall composition - with a twist - rather than simply a straight recording of the artwork.
I especially like the way his hat morphs into a concrete post - surely the work of a master surrealist. (Still typing on a laptop - probably many errors to overcome!)

My regards
Colin

mesutilgim (36615) 2009-04-07 10:44

Hallo liebe Barbara,
Schoen gesehen und aufgenommen. Die Graffitis sind immer ganz tolle Themen fuer einen Photographer.
Hier ganz sanfte Farben und gute Informationen.
Danke schoen und mfg
MESUT ILGIM

PS.Hattest Du diesen schon gesehen ? Der Meister in der Mitte mit seinen drei Enkelkindern und jungen Gesellen ! :-)))

http://www.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=8&p=947322

Sistercosmo (2569) 2009-04-07 12:19

Liebe Barbara,
also mich überholt keiner, aber das weißt du ja bereits. ;-)))) Was du noch nicht weißt ist, dass ich auch *gar* nicht zeichnen oder malen kann! Mehr als ein Strichmännchen schaffe ich nicht!
Dieser Künstler hat es aber können und du hast es sehr schön eingefangen!
Ganz liebe Grüße und einen schönen Abend!
Linda

ciakgiak (10496) 2009-04-08 13:06

Hello Barbara,
what great effect gives this murales, it's really incredible how the element upon the wall continue with the picture of the hat. You had a great idea to show this us (how is my English? :-().
A dear hug
Giorgio

Waylim (10741) 2009-04-08 13:38

Barbara,
Sorry, I'm a little bit late, trying to catch up with everyone, and I'm preparing to go to Dead Valley for the weekend, and you gonna love this, it suppose to rain. I would love to see some of that in Dead Valley, it would be a very unusual atmosphere to see rain in Dead Valley since they don't get much of that. As for this photo, I love it, as you know I appreciate painting, and I could never do a painting this size but I enjoy looking at it. It does bring back and nolstagic essence of the old west. I didn't know they have satellit TV back then :) I don't think I'll post anything till I come back. Happy Easter.
Way

ChrisJ (70019) 2009-04-08 23:01

Hi Barbara

I found a wall mural of Obama in Denver, but missed this superb masterpiece.

http://www.treklens.com/viewphotos.php?l=3&p=484372

Here's another in Canada:

http://www.treklens.com/viewphotos.php?l=3&p=492211

Tfs!

rikko77 (5912) 2009-04-09 0:10

Hi Barbara,
wow this is a great shot. I find it clever, by looking at the thumbnail it seemed to be a true guitarist! Composition and colors are very nice....
btw, thanx for the msgs on last Tuesday....we're still having some strong shakes (last night 3), but we're almost getting used and anyway there are people with bigger and bigger problems in this moment some km away from here....
Have a nice day!
Rikk

Photo65Net (43084) 2009-04-09 3:48

Hello Barbara,
Nice wall image !
IU like how you emphasized the art, nice job,
Have a nice day,
JB.

albertojr (718) 2009-04-09 7:22

Nice and neat, you have captured a wall of art in a sunny afternoon. It's a very good photo.

Wanda1 (10923) 2009-04-09 8:46

Hi Barbara,
This does look like a huge mural indeed, and I like that the colours of the painting blend in almost camouflage with the colour of the wall. Yeah, I can almost hear the music :o) A good clear shot.
Regards
Wanda

PixelTerror (86038) 2009-04-13 1:26

Hoi Toggenburg von der Ferne, bin z.Zt nicht in AR aber Offshore...
Es ist eher unerwartet von einer Grossstadt, gibt irgendwie ein Dorfgefühl wo man sich um den Musikanten sammelt, wie bei der Familie Preisig in Teufen (Mein Nachbarn der Wirt). Der obere Teil ist hmmm hmmm, sieht aus wie der böse Finger ;-)
Geniesse diesen freien Montag, Morgen geht's wieder los, ich darf mich mit dem Zoll beschäftigen, schätze 2 Stunden auf F-Seite und 5 Minuten auf CH-Seite...
Viele Grüsse JY

delpeoples (5810) 2009-04-13 4:40

Hi Barbara, Happy Easter to you. This is an interesting composition, beautifully rendered. The image is very sharp and tones are superb. You have really dealt well with the harsh sunlight here to give us a beautifully metered image. TFS, Lisa.

MarcT (21093) 2009-04-13 12:10

Hi Barbara,
Nice drawing on the wall. Excellent color rendering.
Sxhönr Grüsse
Marc

Flavia (10202) 2009-04-15 6:22

Hi Barbara,

Nice picture of an interesting subject. I'm always impressed by these big wall paintings as well.

Regards,

Flavia

MarianneS (14262) 2009-04-16 8:02

Hello Barbara,
I fully agree with your note, it is so impressive!
Your photo is very well managed to show the beauty of this painting, with a lot of details.
Very well done!
Regards,
Marianne

brunorsantana (116) 2009-04-28 11:18

Olá, Barbara!

Nice idea and well done job. Beautiful art work on the wall. Congratulations and TFS.

Greetings from Brazil,
Bruno

pboehringer (770) 2009-05-19 5:03

Barbara,
you finally found the romacier to play some melodies for you and your camera? It seems to me that he is a little bit shy hiding his face under his hat, but still, his message is loud and clear. Let's serenade for Barbara ... and the whole is being broadcoast to the entire TE community through the satellite dish on the top. ;-)
Peter

zmey (7244) 2009-06-18 7:43

sssooo, smiley one, how's Colorado? ;))
this one is a very pleasing mural shot. well balanced and color coordinated, if I may say so. from the thumbnail of it I thought the man was real, LOL.

cheers
K.