street art

Dorothy Does Austin

Many moons ago in a land far far away i resided in not only the same state as my mother but the same city, and under the same roof for a time. Now that seems like light years ago but leave it to mommie dearest to never let you get too far away. My mom Dorothy came to visit Austin last month, this wasn’t her first visit but every time she comes she acts like it is, she’s so excited and happy to be somewhere new that it reassures my soul that not everyone is lame.

The first place we went to visit was one of my favorite places in Austin, the Hope Outdoor Gallery, or as its sometimes  known as Castle Hill or Baylor Street Art Wall. I try to come here at least once a month if not more, i obviously love graffiti so this is like a little piece of heaven for me.IMG_6948

My mom throwing up a hand, so proud of her

IMG_6960DSC_0646To my surprise she actually seemed to like it!

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After that we were starving so we went to the Lockhart,TX  otherwise known as “The BBQ Capital of Texas”. Lockhart is such an adorable small town about 30 mins from Austin.

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There’s 4 famous BBQ joints in Lockhart to choose from, my coworkers suggested Blacks.

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The food was amazing, I always get more than i can eat so i can look forward to it later. My  friend Shannon and her mom Estrella even came to join us! #momdate

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One of my moms favorite places to go when she visits is by far Barton Springs, not only is it beautiful its really relaxing and its so freaking hot here that you have no choice but to love the water.

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On our last evening we took a walk along Lady Bird Lake which is my #1 place to go in Austin. Its my favorite place because when i first moved here and didn’t have a lot going on i would come here all the time and sit and write A LOT. I never wrote outside of my bedroom before i moved here and i also never felt as lonely so Lady Bird Lake was a place for me to go and clear my head, it was literally and figuratively there for me. *cue Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge”*

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We ended the night and her visit at The White Horse on the east side in my neck of the woods where my friend Claudia taught her how to two-step, it was adorbs, i still cant do it!

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This visit was especially unique because i  feel like for the first time i showed her my Austin, the first 2 visits we did the Soco things and 6th street, we  saw a movie at Alamo, ate from food trucks, now i like doing those things but i don’t find myself doing those things all the time. I wanted to show her my real life here.

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Although i was frustrated because that’s what she does to me i appreciate her coming here so much. I know that parents encouraging and loving their kids unconditionally seems so normal but its not, i am beyond words fortunate to have a mom that loves me and doesn’t push me to do or be any other way than myself, she is always supportive and so excited for any crazy thing I’m doing or any new place I’m going. We’ve def had our ups and downs, but i know that she really loves me because she is there for me, even though she isn’t here.

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Chicago Street Art

Okay guys enough with the tomfoolery, i need to start posting again and one of my favorite things in the universe is street art.  I’m obsessed with graffiti, i cant ride or walk past it without taking a picture. My  idea of ‘the life’ is continuously getting lost in new cities admiring the street and imagining who did it and when, fortunately i was able to do that in the Chi a few weeks ago!

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I was so happy and shocked to see this after first noticing it 2 years ago

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underneath the train was one of my favorite places to roam

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I started taking a photography class about 6 weeks ago so this trip gave me a lot of time to play with my camera

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My favorite brand of postcards is called Lantern Press! does anyone else get as excited as i do about paper?! didn’t think so

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even the subtle things…

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Love this, something to think about.

Love this, something to think about.

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This is in Austin as well, and all over Chicago

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one of my favorites

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Not all of the street art in Chicago was painted on walls some was literally sitting or walking in the park

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Does anyone else immediately see a face?

So yeah my time in Chicago was amazing, i got to visit a friend, connect with an old one, and give myself blisters from roaming around  all day. It really is such a beautiful city with a bad reputation, i  was pleasantly surprised at how lovely it was, not saying i was expecting Compton but people make it sound so bad and I’m sure there are bad parts but you can say that about everywhere and everyone. I will def be back to eat breakfast at Macs Restaurant and play volleyball at North Ave Beach and of course to roam.

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Tuxedo Mouse!

Albuquirky

Believe it or not i put more miles on my feet than my car today, i decided to spend the whole day in Albuquerque, partly because i got a bad first impression of it last night but mostly because me and Myra (my car) needed a rest! I took advantage of the free hot breakfast at the hotel and took a walk around, there really isn’t much to see downtown so i ventured off to the Rio Grande Botanical Gardens. I love botanical gardens, if i ever visit a city that has botanical gardens i have to visit because fresh flowers immediately raise my morale.

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The gardens are beautiful and sprawling, there is a butterfly conservatory,  Japanese gardens, and an apple orchard.

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A frog actually sitting on a lily pad!!! when does that ever happen?!! often i guess!

A frog sitting on a lily pad!!! #thatactuallyhappens

Old school farming

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Japanese Gardens

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fish being coy

fish being coy

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After the Botanical Gardens i walked over to quaint Old Town Albuquerque and loved it so.

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This area is exactly how i expected and wanted Albuquerque to look, the beige southwestern old look is so simple and takes you to another time, simpler times, sigh.

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Kokopelli!!!

Kokopelli!!!

After gathering souvenirs i dined at the Rt. 66 Diner, corny and cliche called and i just had to answer.

Don't get the chicken cordon bleu but the sundaes look amazing!

Don’t get the chicken cordon bleu but the sundaes looked amazing!

I walked a good 2 miles or so up to Nob Hill,  a cool area with lots of funky stores, restaurants aaaaand street art! Albuquerque you really want me to like you don’t you!

woe-is-me too girl i feel you

woe-is-me too girl i feel you

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True and simple

 

Spray Fresh

Spray Fresh

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Hey looky there!

Hey looky there!

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accuracy

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I realized a few things about Albuquerque today, first  there are grasshoppers everywhere, second that a girl simply cannot walk 2 feet without getting creeped on (GROSS!), and also the radio stations are the best!! Honestly ABQ, i know its random but i cliterally could not find a bad song on any station and for that reason Albuquerque i guess you’re not so bad after all. #heartonthehighway

Marfa Madness

So yesterday i started out on my southwestern road trip, i told  myself that i would post everyday but i was so incredibly delirious last night after driving over 7 hrs from Austin, TX to Marfa, TX that i could barely brush my teeth. The ride although long was beautiful. One of the first places i stopped to stretch my legs was in Alpine, TX right next to Big Bend National Park.

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I truly believe that every place in the world has character but i got the strangest unsatisfying feeling pretty much as soon as i drove into Marfa. I love small towns almost as much as bustling metropolis’. Texas is full of them, from Johnson City to Fredericksburg, but Marfa …..have you seen “The Hills Have Eyes”? honestly? There are countless boarded up houses and business’, stray dogs and cats, NOWHERE TO EAT and no people! What in the marfa fuck is going on? I read that a lot of places are only open on the weekend which is weird to me. It does have character though, just an eerie, strange, ghost town like energy about it that isnt very inviting.

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Random fake Prada store in the middle of the desert

#tuxedomouse in Marfa

#tuxedomouse in Marfa

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the only faces i saw while in Marfa

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On the way out of town i drove through another equally creepy small town even smaller than Marfa. Ladies and gentleman, Valentine, TX!

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Such a good photo op!

Such a good photo op!

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Sandstorm!

Sandstorm!

When the horses start mean mugging its time to leave, im out!

When the horses start mean mugging its time to leave, im out!

So yeah im missing Austin right now but its okay. I took a beautiful drive through the Guadalupe Mountains and im spending the night in Carlsbad, NM. The 4th motel i went to had a vacancy so i took a shower and here i am. The road is life. #Heartonthehighway

 

Spray if she wants to

Street Art  is one of my favorite absolute favorite things (i wonder if its one of Oprahs too?) i love to admire it, photograph it, and as far as today take part in it. The act of spray painting something on a random wall conjures up the 5 W’s. Who? What? When? Where? and Why?  Was it one person or a group of people? What is it about that particular piece that made them paint that? When the hell did they do that without anyone seeing them? Why did you chose to paint it there? And what does it mean to us? The mystery in that goes along with why street art is so influential. The no-name artists as well as the handful of famous ones remain in the shadows away from the media and don’t seem to care about recognition from the outside world and being famous. Whats even more scandalous is often not what is displayed but how they reached such a high structure and were able to stabilize their self for as long as it takes to create huge pieces.

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The best ive ever seen is in Toronto which is an awesome metropolis and it’s totally  legal, behind all the restaurants and little shops downtown there are alley ways completely full of graffiti from top to bottom.232323232%7Ffp5435;)nu=4345)467) 34)WSNRCG=368454( 83349nu0mrj

The city of Toronto embraces street art so local artists don’t have to worry about being arrested for expressing themselves…..

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Couldn’t agree more, vandalism and art are two different things.

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Venice Beach, CA is another one of my favorite places that has that wild uninhibited vibe that i love and a designated display of street art on the beach at the Venice Art Walls.

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You need a permit to paint here but it is free and easy to get which is great because without the graffiti walls  an eccentric place like Venice Beach wouldn’t be the same.

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Europe has some of the most impressive and notorious street art and street artists, ive only traveled to Amsterdam so far and the street art was definitely something to remember.

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Better than prostitutes….

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Who knows what that says?! and who cares!? its art!

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Ive also found awesome street art in some random cities like Columbus, OH

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How i feel about cities with blank walls

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Kid PK’s street art was the first graffiti i remember recognizing, his name is planted everywhere in NJ and NY on the tops of high buildings and on the side of old trains, PK where are you? *insert ‘call me’ hand gesture to ear*

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Just how i feel that it was so lame of my mom to not go to Woodstock (and to not let me see “N Sync and Britney back in the day #scarredforlife) it was so incredibly lame of me to not visit 5 Pointz in Long Island City in Queens, NY. As of November 2013 the art is no longer, they’ve decided to build an apt building there so it’s completely covered in white paint. There’s nothing worse than a bare wall, you can quote me on that.

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Alas, there’s Austin, the city i reside in now and  its filled with art and it continues to amaze me all the time. From my work to my apartment complex to just driving around town im always in and around art and im such a lucky girl for that.

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Even PeeWee goes hard in the paint, ya know as long as you don’t scare him

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The most street art is no question at Baylor St art wall, it is graffiti heaven in Austin and a playground for photographers and admirers like myself

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It’s constantly changing which is a part of its appeal

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My home state written across the state i live in now #mindblown

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I usually come here to max and relax like so, taking it all in

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But today  i decided to throw up a hand myself

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One of my favorite quotes, as well as #tuxedomouse

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I may have created a monster #Splat not to be confused with #Spit RIP #BeatStreet

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So yeah, the moral of this story is that uh street art is like really cool and stuff and if you live in a city like myself and get to see it all the time, even on those cold gray days just think to yourself  that someone out there is risking their freedom to make art so everyone should just shut up and enjoy it.