In May of 2016, local artists Blice-Edwards created a mural on the north wall of the Boulevard…read morePlace Cafe along 42nd Street. The mural is a scenic with crossing paths and a boy heading toward an intersection with lots of crossroads markers in the center. The rest of the mural has colorful flowers in the forefront and a woodland surrounding the paths. There are lots of names along the bottom of the mural which I assume are contributing artists, possibly volunteers who helped Blice-Edwards paint the mural. Review #1525

I am on the fence with this mural. It was painted by Christian Quintin as part of Arts Council of…read moreIndianapolis' mural program "46 for XLVI" in 2011. The mural is intended to look like a painting on a wall and a lot less like a full mural. I am not sure what the painting means or why it is titled "The Lovers of Indianapolis". The mural depict a windy road with colorful trees scattered around the green hillside on both sides. The top of the mural has a dark sky with clouds and a crescent moon. The mural is starting to severely fade. The original colors are gone. It has a kind of blue tint to it now. Anyway, There is parking available right in front of the mural (it is in a parking lot). There is also free street parking available as well. As with most murals that I have reviewed, though, this is probably not a very long stop, even you may reflect a bit more on this one. I was there less than 3 minutes. You may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other wonderful murals in the area, one is right next to it, to maximize your time and trip.

One of the Arts Council of Indianapolis' mural program "46 for XLVI" in 2011 landed as a welcome to…read moreFountain Square. The mural is presented as a painting with a border frame painted to separate it from the rest of the wall. The surreal landscape shows a highway rising in the hills with multiple trees and pillowed clouds. The mural was painted by French painter Christian Quintin who now lives in California. I'm not sure what the tie in is for Indianapolis, but I like the painting anyway! Review #1465

This mural is behind the Half Liter House patio facing the Monon Trail. It overlooks a little…read moregrass/gravel picnic area with picnic tables and corn hole boards. It is the work of Megan Jefferson of The Department of Public Words, a group that uses art to spread positivity and encouragement. The mural is very simple and depicts a flock of origami looking birds ascending from the lower left corner to the upper right corner of the mural while transitioning in color from pink/white to 3 shades of pink, to pink/red to purple/red/pink to purple/pink to purple/white to a single blue one. The ascent ends with the word "Soar"in the upper right corner. The wall that the mural was painted on does not look like a good wall to paint a mural on. The bricks were cracking one of the small window sills has crumbled and fell off. It is still an eye catching mural, especially considering the condition of the wall. I like Jefferson's use of colors in the mural. The mural is basic artistically and does not have a background other than the gray brick wall of the building. There is parking available in the Half Littler House parking lot where you can park to get out and take a closer look. As with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other wonderful murals in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. You can start with the Monon Love Train, which it faces.

If you are travelling along the Monon Trail between 52nd & 54th Streets, make time to look west as…read moreyou are passing the Liter House & Half Liter businesses. They have an out building (maybe a smokehouse?) that is near the trail with a pastel mural birds taking flight. The birds are shaped like origami constructs that are roughly arranged in rows and columns that are tilted off center. The majority of the birds are done in shades of pink, though some of the ones higher on the wall have deeper colors of purple and blue and nearly black. The birds appear to be all the same size as well. In the upper right corner, the title "Soar" is written by the artist Megan Jefferson who I believe used a stencil to ensure the shape and patterns were consistent. If you are a fan of Jefferson's, she collaborated with Jamie Locke to create the pair of Angel Wings (see a separate review) that can be found just south of Liter House on the north wall of the Developer Town building. Review #2535

I love this mural! Discovered it while getting dinner across the street. It's fairly new and on the…read moreside of a game shop. I am not sure who the artist is.

Indy West community group arranged to have a mural put at this location back in 2012. Local…read moreartists FAB Crew (Fantastic Aerosol Brothers) which is made up of artists Dan Thompson (Sacred 317) and Ben Long (6Cents), and Nemasis painted a large welcome sign to introduce visitors to the Near West side of Indy. But instead of adding simple block letters, they added scenes within each block letter that give a bit of background/history about the area. Images include airplanes and the Indy 500. Review #1789

Whenever I drive through the area near Perry Crossing Mall (formerly Metropolis), my eye is always…read moredrawn to this large sculpture by native artist, Matthew Berg. Berg is originally from Indianapolis and now resides in Valparaiso. While in Indy, he was commissioned by Galyan's sporting goods in 1997 to make sculptures for some of the Galyan's businesses. Since there is a pond on site, it seemed fitting that the sculpture tie in the water to sports. Berg created a fish that appears to be jumping out of the water. The fish, however, is down to its basic skeletal structure. Although I don't know why it was done that way, it definitely makes the piece noticeable. Though Galyan's is no longer in business, it is nice to see the new tenants of the location have kept the art installation. Berg has several other pieces around the Metro area: "Transcendence" (2002) is an abstract on the Franklin University campus near the arts building; "Children of the World" (2000) for the Kiwanis International near the Pyramids at 3636 Woodview Place is a globe with children holding hands forming the continents; and "Bear" (1997) at 56th and Eagle Creek Reservoir (west bank) that looks like a two-story cookie cutter of a bear made of oxidized steel. Review #1223

If you are walking along the canal near Vermont Street, there is a footbridge that crosses over the…read morewater just north of the underpass. On each side of the canal, an elevated round platform adds an ornamental flare to the bridge. Artist Barbara Zech has decorated these platforms with hundreds of mosaic tile forming circular patterns in soft, subtle colors. Each of the tiles was hand made by Zech for the "46 for XLVI" mural program in 2011 for the Superbowl that was hosted by Indy. These two platforms are individually counted in the 46. Review #1340

In 2010, Marian, Inc bought this 2003 bronze sculpture of a bear for its headquarters just outside…read morethe downtown area. The sculpture is mostly abstract, but the detail of the bear's face and shoulders is accurately depicted by Canadian artist Tim Cherry. Cherry focuses on wildlife sculpture and draws upon his time spent as a taxidermist to understand the physical properties of his subjects. Review #1341

This was a nice piece and then people started tagging it. The wall could also use a little cleaning…read moretoo. We just cant have anything nice. It was commissioned by the Arts Council of Indianapolis as part of the 46 for XLVI mural program. The mural was painted in 2011 on a retaining wall by the world famous fab crew. The murals art work is on point and depicts an orca and another fish on a boat casting lines and trying to catch worms in the water. It is a play on fishing.....wormin', fishin'... you get it? Even though it is fading a lot, I like how the water and sky come together. It use to really pop for sure. The water looks so realistic. I am felling the humor of the mural and love the concept. There is free street parking right in front on the mural, so accessing it is very easy. As with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other murals and public art in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

Is it art? Is it graffiti? If it is painted on a retaining wall by an interstate, but looks like…read morea painting, is it something in between? Or both? Such is often the case with the work of the Fantastic Aerosol Brothers (FAB Crew) of Indianapolis. Partners Dan Thompson (Sacred317) and Ben Long (6Cents) have been painting most of their lifetimes, frequently together as a partnership or part of a larger "writers" crew. Back in 2011, they participated in the Arts Council of Indianapolis' sponsored SuperBowl mural program "46 for XLVI". The council wanted to bring murals to all parts of the city, so who better than artists familiar with some of the less frequented areas like the Pleasant Run Parkway where it crosses Olive St (one block east of Shelby Street). In this whimsical mural, several fish take on human qualities as they stand in fishing boats with fishing poles trying to catch worms using leaves on hooks. Basically, it's a shift along the fishing process once removed. If you are interested in their style, FAB Crew (both together and individually) has murals throughout Fountain Square and Broad Ripple. Review #1447