Yellow Polk a dot purple couch mural is as the name suggests. It is a massive public art mural that…read moreis a purple chair with yellow Polk a dots all over it. Located in the broad Ripple Neighborhood of Indianapolis Indiana. My family and I were on a weekend getaway to the city when exploring the broad ripple neighborhood and rbis colorful piece sticks out quite easily. On the same side all at the other end is another public art mural called angels wings II. In the same parking lot on a smaller back building is the octo lady mural. So all kinds of art to discover just a few steps apart. Overall pretty basic piece but all public art is great to see. My daughter enjoyed this couch and even joked "I'd put that chair in my room".

This mural is part of Jiffy Lube of Indiana mural project, in conjunction with the Arts Council of…read moreIndianapolis. It is the work of local artist Nekoda Witsken, who is also the owner of Hue Murals. She completed the mural in 2021 in about 2 weeks. This is a unique and interesting mural. It is in Witsken's signature "color explosion" style. And it also seamlessly incorporates a regaining wall that it in front of the primary wall. It has a 3D cutout flower panel on it. The mural itself is not painted directly on the Jiffy Lube wall because the wall is exposed brick. Witsken used large specially cut aluminum dibord to create a floated surface on which to paint. The mural depicts the colorful image of a black woman's face and a nonbinary person with their arms up above their head while they are standing in front of a sunflower. The retaining wall has a 3D flower and continues with the black woman's neck and top portion of her body. There is also a very close up image of the upper right side of a face. This piece grabs your attention. I like how Witsken uses colors. Witsken aimed to paint a mural that featured empowered, diverse people in terms of both gender and race. She hopes this mural inspires people to take a deep breath, grow their positivity, and be open to those around them. Witsken is very talented and I am a fan of her work. You claims that this piece is her best work thus far. You should really check this mural out if you are in the area. As with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes.  You may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. You could start with the Lincoln Mural (another of Witsken's pieces) or Lincoln Park.

When one of your favorite local artists proclaims that their latest work is their favorite, you…read moreshould make a point to see it in person. Even though I live southwest of Indy and this new mural is north west, I am so glad I went. She was still working on the mural so I got a brief moment to chat with her. Now I will have to make a return visit to capture the final version. Hopefully some other Yelpers will stop by who can add more photos until I get back to the area to share. As part of an ongoing series sponsored by Jiffy Lube of Indiana, the business wants to be a good neighbor and bring art to the community in unexpected places. In its fifth year at the time of this installation, the business coordinates with the Arts Council of Indianapolis to find local artists who would be willing to take on the opportunity to have their work seen by lots of folks who might not make it to galleries or art museums. One of the limitations is that the mural should have nothing to do with vehicles or that might be interpreted as simply advertising. The artists are given a great deal of freedom to be creative which is one reason this artist Koda Witsken enjoyed working on the project. All artists are paid for their work too! According to comments on the artist's website (Hue Murals), the mural was inspired by the chance to show gender and ethnic diversity as well as the native flowers of Indiana. One of the most impressive things about the mural (in addition to her amazing sense of color and talent) is that she hand paints with brushes (no spray cans for her) the entire 400 sq ft area! Imagine painting a 12 x12 room just over 8 ft tall with paint brushes, no roller? My hands ache just thinking about that task! Another challenge the artist had to deal with is that sometimes the mural may be replaced, so to preserve the art she paints on specially cut aluminum dibord which can be attached and then removed for another location later. In some of my photos you will notice the white dibord before she had a chance to finish the mural with painted jewelry. Personally, I love how the artist can see colors within color. Her work can be found all over the north side and she is adding more locations in the metro area. For more of her work check out my Collection of reviews and photos on Yelp. Review #3941

In 2020, a new abstract mural was added to the alley side of a garage at 1080 Christian Avenue in…read moreNoblesville (near the roundabout of 10th and Greenfield Avenue). The mural is colorful and is a tribute to the nearby actual carousel of Noblesville. The mural was painted by a trio of local artists: Nekoda and Croix Witsken and JD Bills. The mural is a bit difficult to see in whole since the alley is not very wide and so it is hard to get the large mural to fit into your camera screen. But traffic is minimal, so if you find a place to park at the shopping center across 10th, it is just a short walk to this alley which is the road that has the liquor store on the corner. The mural is about a block to the east of the liquor store on the opposite side of the alley. Most notable for me was the horse head that is associated with most carousels. There are also numerous flowers adding shapes and color to the mural as well. Review #3793

This mural is massive. It not only covers Big Hoffas BBQ's main building, front, back, and sides,…read morebut it bleeds over to the building next door. It uses every inch of the building and incorporates flag masts on the buildings roof. It was painted in 2019 by Jackie McCracken and Robert Schaefer. The mural wall is not flat or smooth. It has ridged, kind of like a tin roof, and overlooks Big Hoffas' parking lot. The mural theme continues on into the restaurant. I am not sure of the tie in with Barbecue and pirates, but Big Hoffas is all in and seems to make it work. The mural is very colorful and has a lot going on. In the center you will find a couple of pirate ships sailing off the coast. The front door of the restaurant is used in the larger of the ships. The left side of the mural (as you are facing it), is very interesting. It is actually kind of 3D and has cutouts of a pirate scene with a swashbuckler bursting out of a window of a building and and 4 more pirates down below sitting by a campfire. There are also a set of white angel wings in between those pirates that are like those that are starting to pop up all over the place and where people can takes pictures in front of and make look like they are wearing them. They seem kind of out of place to me, but no big deal. The rest of the mural is mostly a coastal image. I love the artistry and use of color and can only imagine how long it took to paint it. You can not help but be "wow'ed" by this mural. You probably wont spend too much time checking this mural out. It is a lot to look at a digest. I was there about 10 minutes. So, I recommend coupling it with a visit to Big Hoff's to eat some of their delicious "Q". Since it overlooks their parking lot, parking here is easy. I would also recommend checking out that entire mural that includes the patio area and a whole other building next door.

Wow! What a statement piece mural has been added to Westfield. On the east walls (and wrapping…read morearound three other walls) of the Big Hoffa's BBQ and the Main Street Shoppes is one of the largest murals I've seen. The entire length of wall has been turned into a Pirate's Cove with multiple sailing ships, pirates, and even a few skeletons. The north ends of the buildings continue the mural to add images of an island paradise and a cloud covered sea. The mural was created by Rob Schaefer and Jackie McCracken in 2019. There is so much detail to see, I will pick just a few to highlight here. Ship's masts - Not only is there a giant mural, but some construction was done to turn the largest ship's masts into actual wooden structures with crow's nests that stick up above the wall of the mural. As you approach from the east, it makes you think it is a real sailing ship! Pirate theme - For anyone who has dined inside Big Hoffa's, there already existed a pirate theme, so kudos to the artists for taking that and making the entire building a not so subtle advertisement. Insta-worthy - If you can get here when there isn't a crowd, there is a section of the wall with a pair of angel wings where you can take a selfie while surrounded by pirates. This is one of those pieces you have to see for yourself to appreciate how much skill and effort went into creating the mural. The surfaces aren't smooth, but unless you look carefully, you can't tell that there are raised ridges that run vertically which add even more challenge. Although I am rarely a fan of other murals being painted over, (the space used to have a giant village painted in a somewhat primitive style), I can't deny that the visual appeal of this new mural is much greater to me. The next time you are in Westfield, make a point to stop by these shops! Review #3360

This sculpture is marvelous. It really love it. It is located on the corner out in front of the…read moreRise N Roll Bakery. It is also off of the Monon Trail. It is an interactive piece that changes shapes in the wind. This steel sculpture, was built in 2018, sits 14 feet high and is perched on a 3 foot cement base. It is the work of Anthony Howe, who named the piece based off the circular shape of each element and the overall circular form. It was not much wind blowing while I was there, but with the little bit of wind blowing, the kinetic sculpture was doing its thing. I was amazed by this sculpture. It was mesmerizing, with the moving pieces and the sun reflecting off of the steel. It is definitely a must see. There is metered street parking within a short walk of this sculpture. There is also a commercial lot across the street. As with most sculpture that I have visited and reviewed, this is probably not a very long stop, even though the kinetic part may keep your attention longer than the average. I was there less than 10 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other wonderful public art and murals in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. You can start by getting a good donut to munch on while the sculpture hypnotizes you.

I love watching kinetic art move, especially when it is chrome or polished steel. So when I found…read moreout that a new 14' piece was recently added in Broad Ripple, I made a beeline to the corner where Westfield Blvd angles north in the village. The shiny metal piece has a central curved column that supports a wheel of curved metal pieces with metal circles on each end of the pieces. Ideally, those will catch the wind and sunshine and make for a spectacular image. Sadly, by the time I got there, both the sun and wind were not cooperating. But in my imagination, I can see that this is going to be a very cool addition to the neighborhood (just east of Bungalows and north of Brugge.) The art was created by artist Anthony Howe (Utah born) and installed in late 2018. Review #2275

With a huge number of interstates and thereby, underpasses for local traffic, some initiative to…read morepaint the support columns and beams with themes blossomed into a number of colorful murals. Where I-65 & I-70 cross over College Avenue (around 12th Street), there is quite a span that requires 26 columns to uphold the traffic overhead. 26 is a great number if you are thinking about alphabets, so artist Andrew Severns undertook painting the columns with a different color palate for each support section. He then added an English language letter from our alphabet to the center of each column on white background. To make the columns more interesting, Severns looked into the origins of language and alphabets, so he has added additional symbols above and below the English letters. Review #1745

This mural is part of Jiffy Lube's mural program in conjunction with Indianapolis Art Council. They…read morecommissioned Shamira Wilson Young to paint it in 2018. The mural is a metaphor for the energy of movement inspired by the social fabric, textile technique and the multi-cultural diversity of the community surrounding the area. Much of Young's work uses stripes as a graphic device which largely comes from textiles. It took her 15 days and 14 gallons of paint to complete. The abstract design depicts a line that is woven vertically that fades from orange to yellow against an intersecting line that is woven horizontally and transitions from pink to dark red. It is meant to represent the back and forth motion of the process of weaving and also reflect the motion of movement and transportation. I am normally not a fan of abstract art and this is a basic design. However, I like this mural. It works for me. I don't know, the colors just grabbed and hypnotized me. It also helped that I had context while viewing this mural, which is huge for me. Parking here is pretty simple. You can either park in the strip mall parking lot that the Jiffy Lube sits in front of or pull right into the Jiffy Lube parking lot. Either way, 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 attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

Interwoven is a colorful art installation on the side of the Jiffy Lube near 56th and Georgetown…read more The art shows two loops of color that are overlapping. The vertical loop has an orange line that transitions to a light yellow the higher it goes, then returns to orange as it lowers to near the sidewalk. The horizonal loop starts as a deep scarlet thread and lightens to a pale red (almost pink) by the time it reaches its lowest crossing. The background is white and visually pops between the crossings. The work was created by artist Shamira Wilson Young (Indy) who worked with the Arts Council of Indianapolis and Jiffy Lube of Indiana. Jiffy Lubes throughout the state are adding original public art and will continue the program in 2019. This piece was added in 2018. Review #2276

Fluorescent frogs is a very cool and unwise display of public art located inside the intech park…read morearea of Indianapolis Indiana. My family and I discovered this cool piece while entering a round a bout on the way to our hotel while in town for a weekend get away from Lousiville. Int he center of the round a bout is a small pond. On Thai pond is some constructed Lilly pads with each containing a frog statue on them. At night these frogs glow a beautiful fluorescent light. Very pretty and unique thing to view. I'm not quite sure I've ever seen anything like this before. What a cool and creative way to spruce up a round about for intech park.