This week I resumed organizing my digital images. Today’s batch includes five utility boxes designed and painted by three Toronto-based artists. I organized these images under the Outside the Box | People theme and listed them by artist’s last name below.
Gary Taxali’s Designs
Gary Taxali is a Canadian contemporary fine artist and illustrator known for his iconic retro style pop art and illustration. The following two “Good Fun” boxes have subtle differences between them.
Colin Tea’s Design
Colin Tea is a Toronto-based artist who is also known as Colin Turner Bloom. The design is meant to transport those passing by into the tranquility and beauty of nature.
Madeline Yee’s Designs
Madeline Yee is a Canadian illustrator and animator. The designs on two back-to-back boxes feature people activities in the neighbourhood.
Weekend Coffee Share
I enjoyed checking out the designs on these boxes and discovering Toronto-based artists. I usually look up the artists after my walk to learn more about their art portfolios.
Did you like any of the above designs? For more door photos, visit Dan’s #ThursdayDoors photo challenge.
I’d love for you to share what’s been happening, simple joys from your week and/ or favourite public art photos from around the world in the comments or Weekend Coffee Share linkup #115 InLinkz below.
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Natalie the Explorer 
I love what artists do to utility boxes these days. We have several beautiful ones near us – lots of fauna and flora themes to admire. It’s so much nicer than looking at boring steel boxes isn’t it? I enjoyed seeing your collection Natalie.
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Hi Leanne, I’m glad you enjoyed seeing my collection. I agree with you it’s much nicer to look at artwork than at boring steel boxes. Thank you for linking up. Have a great weekend!
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Natalie, I love that cities are embracing the concept of art on otherwise mundane structures. It creates a nice visual for passersby and showcases an artist’s talent – a win-win.
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Suzanne, I agree with you about the win-win. Toronto has specific programs to promote artists and public art so there are many painted utility boxes and murals around the city.
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I am so attracted to utility boxes as well. My fave is the Madeline Yee ones.
Here is mine for this week https://mywanderings.travel.blog/2023/04/21/cruden-farm/
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Teresa, I’m glad you like painted utility boxes, too. Thank you for your PPAC contribution. Cruden Farm looks like a lovely place to explore.
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I love these doors, Natalie! Those are so fun. What a brilliant way to jazz up a boring utility box.
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Dan, I’m glad you love these doors. I have quite a few more to contribute to Thursday Doors 🙂
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Yay!
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My small town is currently having a contest to see who gets to paint our downtown utility boxes. I like Yee’s the best. Wonder if we’ll get anything that colorful here?
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I’d love to see the winner’s design of your town’s contest. I’ve seen some neutral colours used to paint these utility boxes and they look great thanks to the drawings.
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Thanks to #Weekend Coffee Share I went off and explored your site – and enjoyed it. I paused for quite a while over your ChatGTP generated story!
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Thank you, margaret21. I appreciate that and welcome.
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Loved the Colin Turner design. I also like to look up artists of murals, feel sad when they don’t sign their name. Sometimes a google image search of the painting brings results though
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I wish all artists sign their name on their artwork. Hundreds of people walk by these utility boxes every day so it’s free promotion for the artists.
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Maybe they prefer anonymity
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Yes, some of them do.
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They are such grey, boring things. I love seeing them enhanced like this, Natalie.
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Jo, I’m glad you like these painted boxes. I have quite a (digital) collection to share.
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I keep adding to mine, too. Happy weekend 🤗💖
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Happy weekend 🙂
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It’s a while since we’ve seen any of your Portuguese boxes Jo. Time for another exhibition!
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Gary Taxali’s design character reminds me of the old-school Popeye cartoons. Fun.
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Yes, it’s retro fun.
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How wonderful! I like the cheerful Madeline Yee’s designs.
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I like how that design illustrates a few activities in the neighbourhood (jogging, dog walking, boating, cycling, gardening, basketball playing, etc.)
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Wow, what a nice way to show off an artist’s talent. You have captured the artist’s talent. Beautiful. Happy Weekend.
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Thank you. I’m glad you liked my photos.
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THese ones are really nice!! I took some pics of one in Launceston that I’ll share with you soon.
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I look forward to seeing your pics.
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Last week, I walked through Graffiti Ally in Toronto. The alley where CBC’s Rick Mercer did his weekly rants. I’m sure you’ve been. This was the first time I walked through the alley. It was much longer than I anticipated.
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That alley is popular. Some of the murals there were painted over to create new murals.
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I’m glad Natalie’s post sent me to your blog. Lots of fun discoveries!
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Some are more interesting than others, but always they lead to new knowledge and an appreciation of our surroundings.
Thanks Margaret.
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It’s great that cities are more open to this these days. My favourite would be Madeline Yee’s Box #1
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Yee’s Box #1 captures a few activities in the neighbourhood. I like it, too.
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These are fabulous art works Natalie, some people are so clever. The Tea People takes my fancy.
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Hi Debbie, I’m glad you liked the artworks. These artists come up with some unique designs. It’s a delight for me to go for a walk and discover them.
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It’s always fun to see where you take us and what you see along the way 🙂
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I’m fortunate to live in a city that’s full of delights. I love exploring and I greatly enjoy your company.
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I liked the activities in the neighborhood boxes. The one with the basketball & dog walking would be my favorite. #Weekendcoffeeshare
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Thank you, Karen, for your comment. I like that box, too.
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Hi Natalie, it’s good to be back and finding familiar faces and writing styles after a break away from blogging. I enjoyed this coffee share and am in awe of your ability to continue to dig into the photographic archives let alone try and organise them. As always, your photos are inspirational and your eye is very sharp for detail, I guess that’s why I enjoy photography there are so many angles from which to see an object. If I can get my head around the link up thingee, I’ll put my contribution to WCS – there once I’ve written it (haha). xxLinda
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Linda, Welcome back to Weekend Coffee Share! Thank you for your comment about my photos. It’s my digital hobby since I’ve been moving away from hobbies that create physical stuff. I look forward to your post when you’ve written it. If you have difficulty with the InLinkz, feel free to leave the link to your Coffee Share post in my Comment section.
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A great way to brighten up an otherwise dull feature 😃 Here’s mine: https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2023/04/22/tired-sleepy-dragon-atop-the-dunes/
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Jez, Thank you for your PPAC contribution that took me to Scotland. I’d love to meet the tired, sleepy dragon atop the dunes one day.
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I’m hopefully going to meet up with it in the not too distant future 🤞
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That’s wonderful. I hope the weather cooperates for your outdoor meet-up with the dragon.
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I think it is very interesting to see all the different types of street art that you share with us Natalie. It is not so common where I live. Our local library showcase different artist every other month and those exhibitions are wonderful. I always visit them.
Have a great rest of your weekend! I’ve been so crazy busy with school and work that I missed the coffee share last weekend, but I will write one after visiting my garden today.
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Hi Maria, Toronto has a rich and vibrant public art/ street art scene and the city has specific programs to promote artists to paint. I look forward to your weekend coffee share when you have a moment to write it. Have a wonderful weekend!
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I can tell! It’s wonderful to see it it in your posts 🙂
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Thank you Maria for your positive feedback. I’ll share more street art on my blog.
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Isn’t it interesting when outside the box is on the box. I always think that’s such a cool thing.
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I enjoy both the words and paintings as examples of human creativity.
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It’s wonderful to see art everywhere, including utility boxes. Makes such a difference! I love Madeline Yee’s style, very unique.
Here is mine:
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Madeline Yee is a young artist who already has an impressive portfolio with a unique style. Thank you for your PPAC contribution that took me to Glasgow. The quote and the statue are inspiring.
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I went to check her website, her work is excellent.
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Good fun indeed! And an excellent way of cheering up the urban landscape. I’m joining in for the first time today: https://margaret21.com/2023/04/22/the-secret-street-cats-of-troyes/
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Margaret, Thank you for your first PPAC contribution that took me to France. The cat street art is clever and delightful. It’s almost like a fun treasure hunt. I hope to see more of your public art photos.
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I think you will, and soon. This time, France did us proud. Thanks for your welcome!
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Looking forward! Thank you for sharing.
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It’s a while since we’ve seen any of your Portuguese boxes Jo. Time for another exhibition!
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Ooops, sorry, that’s got divorced from Jo’s post. Who know why…
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Great way to make an ugly thing non-ugly. I think my favorites are the beach scenes. I hope you are having a great weekend 🙂
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The beach scenes remind me of summer and relaxation. Thank you for stopping by, Trent. Have a wonderful weekend!
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I love all the different approaches from the artist’s. I love seeing them have the opportunity to share their creativity in such an interesting way!
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Thank you for your visit and comment. I’m glad you love the artists’ approaches and the street art opportunities available to them. Toronto has specific programs to promote street art. The artists get to paint and share their work. The public get to enjoy it. It’s a win-win.
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Absolutely
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Love those utility boxes – such a great way to showcase local artists, beautify the neighborhood, and give people something to smile about.
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I agree. It’s win-win-win.
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I like Colin Tea designs, the best, but they are all cute. The first ones remind me of the really old cartoons.
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Marsha, I like how Colin Tea designs look like water colour painting. Thank you for linking up.
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Yes, maybe that is why I liked them best. The other thing I love is the golden colors. I like fall colors, and that had a flavor of that.
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Yes, that design has a nature, summer to fall vibe.
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Absolutely! One of each season except maybe spring. I think the colorful ones look more summery than spring. They all look better than bleak gray or beige boxes! 🙂 You are doing a great job with PPAC. I took some great PPAC pictures on my NV trip this time. I passed up more than I could take, though. The roads there are full of them. 🙂
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Marsha, Thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement. I have many public art photos to share so hosting PPAC is easy. I look forward to seeing your PPAC pictures from your NV trip.
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coming right up this weekend. 🙂
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Yay!
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🙂
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I love the art on the utility boxes, Natalie. It dresses them up nicely!
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Glad you love the artworks, Pam. Thank you for stopping by.
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I love that you’re organising and we get to enjoy the fruit of your labour! I really love the community efforts to beautify utilities.
They are all such fun – I am particularly taken by Madeline Yee’s … it is quite Rodin-esque in vibe.
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I’m happy to have blogger friends like you to share my art discoveries. Madeline Yee is a young artist with an impressive portfolio.
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I am so glad we are able to spur each other on in our passions, and share the discoveries we make!Definitely one of the highlights of this space!
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I agree. Hopefully we’ll meet in-person one day.
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Yes please! If you find yourself in Singapore, we must go exploring together!
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I’d love to go exploring Singapore with you. By any chance you land in Toronto, let me know 🙂
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Yes I will!!! Meanwhile I will enjoy your lovely city vicariously 🥰
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Hi Natalie!
I love all the artists you have featured and my favorite is Madeline’s as her colors just pop! I love her designs as well. They are all very good and I love how you have so many artists in your area. I thank you for hosting the weekend coffee share and am so happy I could join this weekend. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and week ahead! Kindly, Diana 😀
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Natalie,
Street art on utility boxes has not taken a hold where I live and it is our loss. Street art in my city is large, beautifully painted murals on very old buildings, celebrating our history of bluegrass and country music. I love the art that you have featured and would love to see more. Hope your weekend is going well. Joe
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Joe, The murals in your city sound wonderful. I’d love to see them. We also have a lot of murals here. I’ll share some more murals and utility boxes on my blog. Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Hi Diana, I’m glad you’re able to join us this weekend. I look forward to reading your coffee share. Madeline Yee is a young artist. With her talent, I think she’ll be very successful.
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These are wonderful, I am a big fan of painted utility boxes, and these ones are particularly good.
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Scooj, Thank you for your visit and comment. Glad you like these boxes. There are many painted utility boxes where I live. I’ve shared some and will continue sharing more photos of them on my blog.
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These are so interesting utility boxes. What a fantastic idea to use them as palates. Thamks for the tour.
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Antoinette, Thank you for your comment. Good to see you join us this weekend. I like that these painted utility boxes are visually interesting and they showcase the artist’s creativity and skills.
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Those are so very cool. Love them all. #2 is the best in my book. Love the little man. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
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Thank you Patrick for your comment. I’m glad you love these painted boxes. Have a great weekend!
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I am seeing more and more decorated boxes. They have been done in my area (Aurora) and I see quite a few on my excursion down Yonge Street to Toronto.
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Anthony, Yes, there are many painted utility boxes in Toronto. It’s good to know they’ve also been done in Aurora. Thank you for stopping by.
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That first artist has the Monopoly guy down pat on those utility boxes, Natalie! Since I’ve read your posts about painted utility boxes, I’m starting to notice them more and more in other towns and cities. Might as well make them look good! Enjoy organizing your images. Ugh, that’s a job!
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Terri, Toronto has had a specific program for artists to paint utility boxes for a few years now and there are many of these painted boxes around town. The suburbs and other cities or towns are catching on. I organize my images in small chunks of time as it’s a tedious task. The upside is I feel good after I get them sorted out, have a backup and delete those on my phone to reuse the memory space for new photos.
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I like them all Natalie.
If such displays were produced in any major US city, I would fear for them being vandalized with graffiti. Does Toronto have a similar problem?
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Gary, Toronto as a Graffiti Alley and specific sites for graffiti artists to paint there, as well as programs to paint murals, street barriers, utility boxes, etc. So far they seem to work in preventing vandalism with graffiti. I also heard that in the artist community, they respect each other’s work and don’t vandalize. I’ve seen graffiti on walls but they are not on the designated sites that I mentioned.
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Your community is to be applauded.
Here unrestrained graffiti is both honored as some sort of right and hated by both home and business owners as reducing the value of anything it touches but owners are pressured into tolerating it almost as a free-speech issue.
Just another reason to love Toronto.
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There is a lot public space that can be used for artistic expressions and graffiti without hurting the home and business owners and causing tension in the community. I do love Toronto’s arts and culture very much.
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It’s nice to see a community attempting to make “boxes” more attractive. I wish my community had some sort of beautification committee thinking about placement of signs, boxes, decorations, etc.
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Jeanne, Yes, this kind of organized promotion of arts requires leadership and ongoing commitment. Thank you for stopping by.
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My schedule definitely does not mesh with yours, but Wanted to stop by, this weekend. We are half-expecting to have more winter weather before spring pushes in. Love the public art. So much fun! I am working to move my weekend coffee share to another (more space) of my blogs.) My post is https://quietudeandtea.wordpress.com/2023/04/23/and-weeks-passed-by/ Best wishes for the day and week to come!
Lizl
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Lizl, Thank you for stopping by. Winter is long in your part of the world. I hope you’ve been keeping well. I’ll stop by your blog soon.
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Thank you, Natalie! I do so love the posts that you put forth. Hate to miss ’em!
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I’m glad to hear you enjoy my posts. Thank you for your kind comment.
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Teresa, The murals are fabulous. Thank you for your PPAC contribution.
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Those boxes are so fun!!
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Kirstin, Thank you for stopping by. Glad you liked those boxes.
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These utility boxes have been given a fresh breath of air. They look wonderful and happy and yes, lively.
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Vikash, Thank you for your visit and comment. I’m glad you liked these painted utility boxes. The artists did a wonderful job and transformed an ordinary box into a visually interesting piece of art.
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They’re interesting and pleasing. And they in turn make people happy
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Interesting and nice public art have a positive effect on passers-by.
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It does, Natalie. And this is like God’s work, making the world colourful and less stressful
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Wow! These are really cool! I am going to have to check out Madeline, her style is very unique. I love the idea of the painting on these boxes, and the titling of out of the box was excellent. That being said, the photography is excellent as well, the angles of the photography, and the way they are taken highlight Madeline’s work perfectly, they are taken in a way which highlights the unique perspective of the viewer, while also highlighting what makes Madeline’s work unique, from the way they are shot, I am assuming the photographer has knowledge of either Yee or art in general, and it looks like they are photographer with skill in photographing art, thank you, this is excellent, and I commend highly both the photographer and Yee herself.
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Damien, Thank you for your visit and comment. I took all the photos for my blog with a cellphone. Yee is a young and talented illustrator. I’m pleased to hear you thought my photography highlighted her work.
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I couldn’t tell at all that it was done with a cell phone, that makes it all the much better, you are a talented photographer, thank you for sharing these.
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You’re welcome and thank you for your compliment.
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Anytime, and thank you, as well. 🙂
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These are great fun – I especially like the last one! We saw some painted utility boxes in Tirana last weekend which I’ll have to share some time soon. But my contribution this week is from our Colombia trip earlier in the year:https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/gallery-the-door-knockers-of-cartagena/
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Sarah, I quite enjoyed your photos of the door knockers in Cartagena, Colombia. I look forward to seeing your photos from Tirana. I had planned to go there in 2020 then my trip was cancelled when COVID- started. Have a great weekend!
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