It has been awhile since we’ve taken a walk through the
downtown alleys to have a look at the new murals that have been done since our
last visit there. There were several new
ones and some are more than amazing to view.
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History with trains
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Alex Moir-Porteous was the lead
artist, with a crew of Ruby Kasmito, Joy West-Collazzi and Cali Miller. Volunteers who also helped were Alonzo, Ben
Jaarsma and Dawn Marie Duncan. The train
has a long history in Kamloops and the Kamloops Heritage Rail still carries on
the old tradition, including a hold-up by the old Billy Miner gang which
originally happened in 1906.
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Art Gallery
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This mural was done in 2015 and sponsored by the K.C.B.I.A.
as are many of the others. I don’t have
particulars on that but as the numbers have grown, the interest has grown as
has the talents we see. The artist and
assistants on this one are Ken Wells, Britanee Neufeld and Roy Morrison.
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Colorful & Bright
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This cleverly uses the downward pipes as palm tree
trunks. Other than a ‘Ksymbol’ at the bottom
of these murals, I did not know the artist.
I wish to give credit to the talents who display their work so after doing some searching, found the artist. Both of these are done by Kelly Wright.
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City Street
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This mural has so much in it to see. Called the “Wheel in the Sky”, starring the ‘Great
Architect’ has included different names for his helpers as part of the cinema
attraction. Alex Moir-Porteous is the
artist who created this.
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Sax Player
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This incredible mural was done by Zack Abney. Being artwork in the alley means there is no
way to get away from garbage bins that we have to see but I’d lose almost
half of the photo if I were to crop them out.
So we see it as it is, and the magic of the painter will keep your eyes
on the mural.
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Peace and Love
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Artist Ken Wells signifies the Old Mystic sending out
flowers with his doves to share peace and love.
The birdcage actually surrounds a window, such a good placement of it. This does remind me of a visit to Hong Kong
when a walk around the park you will see many senior men with their birdcages
with birds hanging in the trees as they sit and visit with one another. If memory serves me right, they were budgies
and parakeets, though, no doves.
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Leland Hotel
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Evan Christian created this mural in 2017. It brings back historical memories of the old
Leland Hotel with brightness. It was
built in 1905 and had 75 years to create a colorful history, sadly it burnt
down in 1980.
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Kelly Olynyk
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This one is of Kelly Olynyk and slightly off the track of
the alley locations but I had to include it.
It is at Thompson Rivers University by the basketball
gymnasium. Kelly played basketball during
his high school years in Kamloops and eventually went on to bigger and better
things, now playing for the NBA. Bill Frymire is the artist who created this
mural that is a strong resemblance to Kelly Olynyk.
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Lansdowne Parkade
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The City of Kamloops commissioned Bill Frymire to create
this mesh image on the Lansdowne Parkade.
It wraps around both sides and the front offering a brilliant colorful sight
and depending on where you stand, the colors can vary. It is unlike anything I’ve seen before and am
not quite sure what it might be technically called but it is art and it is amazing.
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Work up close
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It has 90,000 brushed steel tiles, each one representing the
population of Kamloops. Most of the
tiles are stationary but the one wave sweeping the breadth of it has left the tiles
fluttering that allows them to shimmer even more in the breeze.
We then met a couple of visitors from Australia who were enjoying
a solo tour of the murals with a mural map in hand.
We had a nice chat about the newest mural before we went on our
way. The Tourist Centre or City of Kamloops should have the maps, as well as
many who carry tourist brochures.
