One of my favorite muralists in Indiana is Becky Hochhalter. Hailing from the west side of the…read morestate, most of her murals are found in the west central part of Indiana. Her newest work (2019) is in the small town of Knightsville, IN, just a few miles east of Brazil. On the north wall of a building, she has recreated the image of a functional workshop including a pair of sliding barn doors painted as though they were real! The mural portrays a man hard at work inside a woodworking shop. But the man is not alone. There is a cat, three bats, and seven mice in the picture too. There is also a model airplane which has significance to the man who commissioned the mural. The next time you are traveling on US 40 on the west side of the state, make a point to check out this very cool new addition to the Clay County art scene. Review #3136

I have passed this mural many times and not noticed it. I decided to make today a mural finding…read morefield trip. The mural wraps around two sides of the Indy Auto Man's Service Center, the front and side and covers 2,400 sqft. It was commissioned in 2021 by the Indy Auto Man Car Dealership and created by Nekoda Witsken. She was assisted by Travis Neal, Bezol One, and Dan "Invisible Hometown" Handskillz. it is meant to represent the business's core values of initiative, growth, integrity, transformation, and resourcefulness. Employees were polled as to which symbols and heroes they felt best represented these values and their feedback was then used to design the mural. The mural not only has the dog, it has MLK, and Freddy Mercury. I like this mural it is large and very detailed. The colors really pop out and pull you in. You can park in the business's lot to get out and see the mural up close. I highly recommend planning out stops at some of the other wonderful murals that are within a mile or two of this one to maximize your time. Fun fact: This mural served as the backdrop to the inaugural Indy Arts Fest as well.

One of the most talented and successful local artists stays busy adding new murals faster than I…read morecan keep up with her. Local artist Nekoda Witsken collaborated with some other local artists to work on an enormous two sided mural on the south side. One of the special details of this mural is that instead of just using brushes, she used spray paint on this metal surface. The front of the building has many figures and faces (including a full sized Fredddie Mercury. Over on the right side of the building you will see the title of the mural as well as a larger than life image of her dog "Potato".. There is also a dog tag with names of people who love Potato as well as the artist. one of the things I enjoy about this artists' work is that there are many styles of art that she can choose to use. I've seen enough of her art that I can arecognize much of it without her signature. Even when she worked with other artists to complete the work, she has such distinctive touches that I can still find them. Review #3969

One of the rising stars in the metro Indy public art scene is Nekoda (Koda) Witsken who is from the…read morearea and has returned home after extensive travel and education to brighten the lives of people in the area, exposing them to art without the confines of having to visit a museum by placing her murals inside restaurants and other businesses as well as on the side of a building or on the supports of an underpass. Her murals seem to have a vibrant color to them and sometimes have larger than life images. Sometimes they seem abstract and other times, timeless landscapes or portraits, but what ever she paints, it is a pleasant surprise to enjoy. This mural located inside the El Lago Mexican Restaurant dining room covers the entire east wall (over 25 feet!) There are two parts to the mural which you can check out in the photos attached to this review. If you want to take time to enjoy looking at the mural, just order a fine meal and sit and look at the mural while you dine. Do yourself a favor and check out this mural the next time you are in the Geist area! Review #3879

The city of Mooresville added a second mural by local artist Kylin Brown to the growing collection…read moreof public art. The newest mural was added to the side of the M&A Automotive Repair in 2020. The mural is easily visible from Bridge Street just west of the local Lowe's but across the street. The mural features a bright yellow background to catch your eye. The main focus of the mural is a black highway with numerous old cars and trucks and features a M&A tow truck driving along. There is a "greeting card" welcoming visitors to Mooresville. There are some inset images that appear to be old polaroids that have been taped to the mural (but oversized probably several feet across.) The mural not only draws attention to the business and lets you know it is auto related. But with the bright colors, it clearly shows a bit of history for the city that the business has been part of for a long time. I like that the business hired a local artist (from Plainfield) to create the mural and thereby, supports the local arts. If I had a car, I would definitely check this place out since it is locally owned and supportive of the community. But this review is strictly for the artwork. I enjoy noticing all the details that the artist has placed within the mural. Review #3802

Like Ken N. said more eloquently than I will, this mural is located in an unexpected place in…read moreFishers. It's on a wall of a building that's located in the area of the Fishers Test Kitchen. I had parked and was walking to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and stumbled upon it. So I had to take a picture. This is definitely an Instagram-worth mural. It's so colorful and bright. I love coming across murals and public art wherever I am, but this one was an especially welcome sight.

I was in the Yard District in Fishers playing Pokémon GO and found a PokéStop linked to this mural…read more I decided to go check it out and even posted a picture of it on my story on social media. I think the art is great and the message is wonderful. I wish it was in a more noteworthy visible spot though!

The irony of allowing humanity to fall so deep into greed that the unhoused population sit on this…read morebench without anywhere to call home. Says lots without saying a word.

This is a very powerful and intriguing piece that is located off to the side of the Roberts Park…read moreUnited Methodist Church. This sculpture is the work of Timothy Schmalz, a Canadian sculptor and devout Catholic, who was commissioned by Roberts Park United Methodist Church to create this bronze sculpture in 2015. It also goes by the name Jesus the Homeless. As nice as it is, this piece is not one of a kind. There are a bunch of them placed all around the world, well over 100. The original was made in 2013 and is located at Regis College, University of Toronto. Other locations that you will find the sculpture include Australia, Singapore, Israel, South Korea, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Columbia and the Dominican Republic to name just a few. This sculpture is very realistic and detailed. Which brings me to a funny story. In October 2020, police in Ohio were dispatched to a report of a homeless man sleeping on a park bench. Ironically, this call was made within 20 minutes of the Homeless Jesus sculpture being installed. Yep, some called the police on the statue. I will admit, I had to do a double take to make sure it was not real when I saw it. And you are certain to be fooled if you are driving by. It should be noted the the sculpture in Vatican City has received the blessing of the Pope. The bench is about 7 feet wide and depicts a covered figure, assumed to be Jesus, laying on it. The only real identification being the crucifixion wounds on the figures feet. For the low price of 99.99 you too can have your own mini-homeless Jesus made by the artist himself. The sculpture is just off of the Roberts Park United Methodist Church parking lot and runs along Alabama Street. There is tons of metered street parking available in front of and adjacent to the sculpture. There is also a commercial parking lot directly behind it that you can pull into, get out and take a closer look too. I guess you could also do a safe and strategic slow rolling drive by and get a a half decent look, but I do not recommend that. You will not get the full effect of the sculpture. As with most sculptures 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 sculptures, murals and attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. Brickhead3 and Viewfinders would be a great start.

Sometimes, you just need to slow down to really appreciate the beauty in life. I live only a mile…read moreand a half from this beautiful mural, and I know that I have gone by and seen it before. But I don't come this way often and when I have it, it's been while riding a bike. But recently, I've been much more into walking. I've also been much more into living deliciously and slowing down and appreciating moments for what they are and enjoying the beauty in life in all the ways that I can find it and experience it. So, as I rounded the corner and saw this amazing artwork, it stopped me in my tracks. I thought I might've scored a FTR, but when I went to look and see if it was on Yelp, the incomparable Ken N had already beat me to it! He beats all of us to them doesn't he? Sadly, I was never able to meet this incredible man. But I've heard a lot about him from the Yelp community. I'm honored to be the second to review when Ken N holds the FTR. I've seen so many other reviews of public art where it was only Ken N and one other prolific yelper. So I'm honored to have the opportunity to be in this elite group of "hidden art treasure" reviewers. Go read Ken's review because he has a lot of amazing information. For me, I wanted to simply absorb the artwork and also appreciate the special moment of being listed on a review with Ken N. It feels like truly such an honor.

When weather was warm enough to paint outdoors from fall 2020 to the spring of2021, several local…read moreartists headed by Koda Witsken of Hue Murals were commissioned by the town of Cumberland Indiana to paint the trail head area for Buck Creek Trail that runs under US40 just east of Cumberland. It had been prone to graffiti, though not visible from the highway, was a negative experience to users of the Buck Creek Trail for running, biking, and hiking. The highway is very wide and traffic can be heavy, so having this below street level area to cross is critical to getting the trail to be user friendly. A 4500 sq. foot mural has been completed and was recently dedicated. Other artists who assisted Koda were Megan Jefferson and Israel Solomon who are also local. The subject matter focuses on local flora and fauna, much of which is pictured at larger than life size. A fresh coat of white paint was initially placed so that the colors of the mural would be true. The finished mural has also been treated just incase more vandalism occurs, the clean up costs and restoration of the mural should be much easier (wise thinking!) Pull off parking is very limited especially along the busy highway, but there some areas on each side of the street that will allow a car to get off the road. the trailhead can be visited from both sides of the highway since it passes all the way under US40. Just be careful as you slow to look for a spot. I noticed the north side of the street has a neighborhood, but I am not sure if there are any restrictions on street parking there. Review #3924

While touring Indiana, international artist/muralist Jules Muck (MuckRock) stopped in Kokomo to…read morecreate an Inspirational Heroes wall just a block south east of the courthouse. In an alley, faces were painted along the west wall of the alley of people who inspired others. Some were political. Some were entertainment. Others were just regular people who rose in the occasion to become inspirational to others. The alley includes Barack Obama, Bruce Lee, Ryan White, Maya Angelou, Rosa Parks, MLK Jr, Freddie Mercury, Mr Rogers, and Ceasar Chavez. Although some of the artwork is more detailed (recognizable) than others, once given the names available, I was easily able to identify the individuals. And even though some may seem more inspirational than others to me, the fact is that each inspired some people, showing that inspirational heroes come in all races, genders, and walks of life. Review #3065

Firefly is an awesome public art display that I came across while we were in West Lafayette…read moreIndiana. We had to stop and see this for sure. It was really neat took up the entire side of the building. It was very very colorful and I thought it was just super awesome.

In September 2018, a series of murals called "Wabash Walls!" decorated the neighborhood along…read moreWabash Avenue south of downtown Lafayette. Of those murals, my favorite is "Firefly" by Max Sansing. The image shows a profile of a boy who has discovered and captured a firefly, but instead of being an insect, the firefly is a glowing golden boy small enough to fit in the palm of the larger boy's hand. The imagery is lifelike and done with brilliant colors. I really like how well the artist made it appear the larger boy is looking directly at the smaller boy. I've seen far too many paintings where the artist was unable to capture that connection. I also like that there is an element of fantasy and the unknown in the mural. Review #1544

After a fire destroyed several buildings northwest of the county courthouse, the folks of Frankfort…read moredecided to create a public space. So, they began a process that took several years, but culminated in the creation of a new park (Veterans Park) and an enormous mural that spans the east wall of one building and the south wall of another. A total of 9000 square feet of brick was painted into a series of images that represent the history of the city. Suggestions were taken from the citizens for what to include and then a married couple from the South Bend area, Dave Blodgett and Linda Crimson, undertook the painting. The wall on the west side of the park was completed first (1997) and featured John Pence, co-founder of the city. There are also images of frontier life, the railroad, and pioneer life. The wall on the north side of the park was completed in 1998 and features Will Geer, a local who went on to star in "The Waltons" television program. The wall also features another train, and several businesses that were long time contributors to the city including the Roxy Theater. The mural spans an enormous 9000 square feet and because of its age, has been restored once already due to peeling and weathering of the paint. Review #1212