graffiti

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

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Aliens, Caves, Graffiti and Trees ; all this wanderlust girl needs

 

Saw some awesome stalagmites, hung out with aliens and took an amazingly beautiful drive through the Lincoln National Forest. Feast those eye balls.

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the french man who took this picture kept referring to me as ‘madamoiselle’. I love him.

Stalagmites unite!

Stalagmites party!

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Next stop Roswell, bring on the probing!

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I come in peace!

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my attempt at that alien finger thingy

II was so giddy over how corny Roswell is! I love how they play up that alien shit.

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Cant even land an alien guy, get it….land an alien, cause theyre up in the sky on other planets and stuff..okay nevermind moving on!

 

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My next journey was equally as satisfying! Lincoln National Forest!

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sprawling and beautiful

I noticed a  dilapidated gas station with graffiti….

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and i decided to leave my mark image

Another day on the road, another night in a motel with shitty wifi.

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#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.