A fun and free activity in downtown historic Kissimmee is a self guided mural tour. The murals are…read morepart of The Time For Art is Now public art project funded by Osceola Arts in downtown Kissimmee. The projects mission is to revitalize the downtown area with colorful works of art. One of the large scale artworks you would see is the Kissimmee mural on the corner of Main Street and Monument Ave. It was painted by Puerto Rican artist RIC ONE in 2021. He is self taught and has been painting for over 25 years. He also painted Two Koi mural in downtown Kissimmee. On the subject of his art he has said "I want to deliver a meaningful message through my art with substance that does not need to be explained. I want to enhance the beauty of this city with color & creativity." No explanation necessary for this colorful mural featuring the word Kissimmee. It is is believed Kissimmee is a modern spelling of an ancient tribal word. Inside the word Kissimmee RIC ONE has painted some of the iconic images associated with the history of the town. There are oranges and cowboys which are a nod to Kissimmee's cattle ranching history. I even saw the head of a sandhill crane. This is the kind of mural you want to use as a photo backdrop because with its Greeting From: Kissimmee it has a postcard like quality that lets everyone know just where you are.

A fun and free activity in downtown historic Kissimmee is a self guided mural tour. The murals are…read morepart of The Time For Art is Now public art project funded by Osceola Arts in downtown Kissimmee. The projects mission is to revitalize the downtown area with colorful works of art. KowTown is a 69X18 foot mural by Irish American artist Shea Monaghan. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, he moved to the Space Coast as a young boy. Living mainly in Melbourne, he enjoyed fishing, the beach, and the outdoors. While attending art classes at UCF in 2014 he started two graphic design companies. He now works on large scale acrylic paintings, murals, and free lance graphic design. KowTown takes its inspiration from the agricultural history of Kissimmee when it was nicknamed Kowtown or cowtown. Prior to the opening of Disney World in 1971, ranching was an important part of the Kissimmee economy. Cracker cowboys named after the 'crack' their whips made, tended to herds of cattle on large ranches. I love the historical nod of this mural. Its vibrant colors make it a real standout in the downtown area.

A fun and free activity in downtown historic Kissimmee is a self guided mural tour. The murals are…read morepart of The Time For Art is Now public art project funded by Osceola Arts in downtown Kissimmee. The projects mission is to revitalize the downtown area with colorful works of art. Cosmic Owl is a mural of a burrowing owl created by artist German Lemus. Lemus was born in Honduras, raised in Miami, and served in Hawaii while serving in the army. He is inspired to create art from music, culture, nature, and current events. Burrowing owls are native birds threatened and they are protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Burrowing owls are small and live in underground burrows found usually in parks. Burrowing Owl is one of several murals featuring native Floridian wildlife. I always delight in finding burrowing owls in different parks while I am exploring and it was a joy to discover this colorful mural.

I love art and dogs so I was instantly drawn to this artwork. Disco is a 35 foot tall, 3,100 pound…read morestainless steel Labrador Retriever who greets everyone as they enter the Lake Nona Town Center. This friendly pup was inspired by the Lake Nona community. His fractal, reflective surface is meant to evoke the water and waves of Lake Nona. Disco is the work of Filipino American artist and Lake Nona resident, JEFRE. He started Studio Jefrë in 2008 after he had a heart attack at the age of 35 followed by triple bypass surgery which gave him a new perspective on life. He transitioned from urban planning to focusing on his art full time. He has gone on to complete large scale art works all over the world. About the artwork he has created, he has said ""I love public art just for the fact that it's actually public. That is my job: to create icons for cities that the public can view and appreciate, that tell the history of the city." You can see more of JEFRE's work in the nearby Lake Nona Sculpture Garden behind the Lake Nona Wave Hotel. There are four pieces in the BAks series, Faith, Empowerment, Time, and Passion which represent the great qualities JEFRË thinks a city should have and which can be found in Lake Nona. JEFRE is currently working on Wings of the Rainbow, a 49-foot-tall polychromatic sculpture in Osceola County's Brown Weiss Park on Lake Toho that will be a memorial to victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando. I have been a fan of JEFRE ever since seeing his work at the Orlando Art Museum and I look forward to seeing the memorial when it is completed.

A fun and free activity in downtown historic Kissimmee is a self guided mural tour. The murals are…read morepart of The Time For Art is Now public art project funded by Osceola Arts in downtown Kissimmee. The projects mission is to revitalize the downtown area with colorful works of art. You can't miss the bright yellow and orange marigolds on the multi story mural, The Wild Ones was created in 2019 by Florida born artist Steven Teller. He specialize in street art and large scale public murals. Of his art he has said "I create to offer a new moment of perspective. A doorway to a fresh setting. Diverging from the previous river of time. An offering to momentarily step into a different space, vantage point, or sentiment. So, I paint representations of natural beauty, metaphors of growth, and a positive perspective. I do this by using captivating and palatable color schemes depicting floral designs entwined with portraits and animals in graphically geometric, abstract spaces. Florida is home to seven species of marigolds. The red, orange and yellow colors of the flowers in the Wild Ones mural are meant to reference "the cultural patterns and colors of the Seminole and Miccosukee Indian Tribes of Florida."

A fun and free activity in downtown historic Kissimmee is a self guided mural tour. The murals are…read morepart of The Time For Art is Now public art project funded by Osceola Arts in downtown Kissimmee. The projects mission is to revitalize the downtown area with colorful works of art. Some of my favorite murals feature native Florida plants and animals like this one, Florida Panther by artist Ryan Semple. Semple focuses on subjects of flora and fauna in his art. Ryan painted this mural in 2020 with the help of his girlfriend Samantha Shumaker who he met while working on another mural. The subject of the mural is the Florida panther, a threatened species. Their population was decimated by hunting and they were one of the first species added to the Endangered Species Lust in 1973. In the 1970's there were only 20 to 30 left in the wild. Today there are around 200 living in the Everglades and Big Cypress Preserve. Habitat destruction, pollution, and diseases continue to threaten their population.

You can't miss this mural on the side of Toho Square Parking Garage. It is the 12th mural in The…read moretime For Art Is Now public art project funded by Osceola Arts in downtown historic Kissimmee. The mural is called Exploding Kingfisher and it was painted in 2021 by artist Chris Maslow from Melbourne Florida. He chose to use the Kingfisher because it is a bird native to Kissimmee Florida. He wanted you to be able to feel the movement, growth, and acceleration of the bird in the piece. I love the colors in the mural and the dynamic movement of the bird. I have followed many photographers on Facebook who have tried for years to capture the moment a kingfisher hits the water. They are a beautiful bird and I love how this one was captured on the mural.

A fun and free activity in downtown historic Kissimmee is a self guided mural tour. The murals are…read morepart of The Time For Art is Now public art project funded by Osceola Arts in downtown Kissimmee. The projects mission is to revitalize the downtown area with colorful works of art. Iron Horse is a 17 X 76 foot mural painted on stucco. The mural was created by C. Stanley Creative, the husband and wife team of Christian and Jessica Stanley. C. Stanley Creative was founded in 2018 by Christian Stanley, a Central Florida based muralist, graphic designer, and illustrator who graduated from the University of Central Florida's graphic design program in 2011. His public art can be found in Nevada, Kansas, Tennessee, Illinois, and throughout Florida. The inspiration for Iron Horse came from Kissimmee's agricultural and railroad past and transformed into a robotic future. I love the quirky robot rodeo. The science fiction subject matter sets it apart from the other murals in downtown which tend to feature animals and realistic historical events. This mural serves as a tie between the past, present and future of Kissimmee.

A fun and free thing you can do in historic downtown Kissimmee is take a self guided mural tour…read more One of the murals you would see is the colorfu Bengal Tiger mural on the Broadway building by Florida based visual artist, Nicole (Nico) Holderbaum. Nico has painted murals around the world and has mentored thousands of students, guiding them in painting murals on over 30 schools in Florida. She is currently based in Miami. Bengal Tiger is part of The Time For Art is Now public art project funded by Osceola Arts in downtown Kissimmee. The projects mission is to revitalize the downtown area with colorful works of art. Created in 2020, Bengal Tiger is on Kissimmee Jewelers on Darlington Street and Broadway Streets. It features the majestic head of a tiger is shads of orange, yellow, red, purple, and pink. While I like the murals featuring native Florida plants and animals, this mural carries an important reminder that tigers are on the brink of extinction. Today there are fewer than 3,900 tigers that live in four percent of the land they once historically ranged. I think this mural serves as a wakeup call that we need to be environmentally conscience so that animals can roam the planet freely and not just entertain us in zoos.

A fun and free activity in downtown historic Kissimmee is a self guided mural tour. The murals are…read morepart of The Time For Art is Now public art project funded by Osceola Arts in downtown Kissimmee. The projects mission is to revitalize the downtown area with colorful works of art. This work is different than the other murals in the downtown in that it is not brand new but instead Osceola Arts rehabilitated it. Located on the exterior walls of Lanier's Historic Market Place, this mural was created in early 2000 by artist Tom Copella. Tom began his art career by attending the Art Institute in Pittsburgh. Upon graduating, he moved around a lot finally settling in Kissimmee Florida where he painted numerous murals. Tom passed away unexpectedly in 2021. The large scene depicts a time gone by. It tells the story of a small town city filled with businesses, neighbors, friends, and their pets. Some of the figure are based on real historical people. Tom Copella painted himself and his wife carrying a bucket into the center of the mural. The mural was recently restored by local artist Juliana Davidson and her assistant Casey who have worked on numerous historical murals in the area. Murals are a great way to tell the history of an area. Over thirty years the paint faded on the Lanier mural. Cracks were repaired and paint was added to the figures. Julianna did an outstanding job bringing the mural back to life. I love the charm and exquisite detail, like the shadow of a bird as it flies up the building.