Along the Lemon Street Promenade you can find the 24th annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture…read moreCompetition. Out of 60 sculptures submitted for review, 11 were chosen for display by a committee of community members and Polk Museum of Art staff. The Lemon Street Sculpture project is a part of the Parks & Recreation budget. Each artist chosen receives a $1,500 honorarium which they use to get their pieces to Lakeland and for the installation costs. A crane is made available through Lakeland Electric for installing larger pieces. The app Otocast will give you mor information on the art as each artist describes their piece. All of the art pieces will be on display until the end of 2024. Lakeland residents are able to vote on a People's Choice Award and this year the winner selected was Live Large by local Lakeland resident Keith Williams. The sculpture is based on a smaller piece the artist made in 2017. Keith welds and fabricates his art pieces out of recycled metal. His art studio is called 4th Dimension Art & Fab which offers public art and custom fabrication and welding services for the public. As soon as I saw this delightful piece I had no trouble understanding why it won because it was my favorite sculpture too. The piece features a hiker with his faithful dog at his side. The dog has so much personality I couldn't help but fall in love with him. Live Large will be on display in Lemon Street Promenade until the end of this year. Hopefully Lakeland finds a permanent home for him nearby.

Ama is a bronze sculpture of a mermaid that was added to Craig Park in 2014. She stands at the edge…read moreof Spring Bayou. Philip Jepsen and Mermaids Of Earth brought the idea for the statue to the Tarpon Springs Public Art Committee in 2013. Ama is part of the Amaryllis Art for Charity project sponsored by German company Koh-i-Noor. The projects mission is to place 100 Ama mermaid statues around the world in beautiful locations near water. Ama of Tarpon Springs was the 17th statue in the series, and the first on America's East Coast. The Japanese word Ama, refers to traditional pearl divers in Japan while in Tarpon Springs you have the history of the sponge divers. Ama is also the nickname of French artist Amaryllis Bataille who created the Ama mermaid sculpture and many other mermaid art pieces. Ama was cast in Thailand and shipped to Tarpon Springs. At the base of the state is a sponge vase as a nod the Tarpon Springs sponge diving history and there is a small manatee on the left side of the base representing the manatees in Spring Bayou. I love the myth of mermaids so it was a delight to find this beautiful sculpture in Craig Park.

This unique patchwork sculpture used to be in front of the downtown Safety Harbor Fire Department…read morebuilding. Now, it's saved in a nearby residential neighborhood for all to see! Life is good with unique art in Safety Harbor!

Works of public art are fun to find!…read more This is Henry the gopher tortoise! Henry is in honor of the legendary Caladesi Island settler Henry Scharrer. Sylvia the sea turtle, in honor of oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, will be painted on the west side of the tower. The Dunedin water tower is located at the intersection of US Alt-19 and Curlew Rd. The murals are by Tom Stovall who was awarded a $78,142 contract to paint Henry and Sylvia on the water tower in September 2020. Life is good with art!

My family and I stopped by the Greetings from Tampa postcard mural and it instantly felt like one…read moreof those must see spots in the city. The colors are bold and vibrant, and each letter tells its own little story about Tampa which makes it fun to stand there and take it all in. You can tell a lot of thought went into the details, and it really captures the personality of the area. It is also a perfect photo spot. Whether you are just passing through or exploring the city, it is one of those places that makes you glad you stopped. Super easy to find and definitely worth a visit if you are in Tampa. Good spot for sure

Ahh! It's just a cute little mural that is a neat attraction!! I found it and wanted to stop and…read moresee it!! If you're thinking about going and seeing it, GO!! Totally worth it, and there's free public parking as well!! 10/10

Visible from across the tracks on 9th Ave, head to the corner of 9th Ave N and 3rd St N for the…read morebest viewing spot. The Honk4Love mural, artist unknown, is both huge and amazing! I'm sure SHAMC, a local arts center, had something to do with it. Check it out! Life is good with art!

Many neat murals all throughout the town. We really enjoyed exploring and seeing all the colorful…read moremurals

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA is home to one of the largest collections of Street Art I've seen anywhere…read morein the South. The sheer range of styles is sure to please a wide audience from mural fanatics to newbies! --- At my core is a wild & eccentric looking guy dressed in casual clothes (probably made of linen) and holding a DSLR camera in one hand and an artists paint brush in the other. I have been into the arts for as long as I can remember. I spent many a morning as a child sketching everything from the scenery outside my window to abstract thoughts that lodged into my mind. My ability to tap into my right brain continued to be developed through my high school years where I created some of my best pieces only to find them stolen after being submitted to a local art fare. I honestly don't think I ever recovered and for a long time I tried to recreate those pieces, but couldn't. As an adult, my focus shifted to architectural, landscaping  & interior design as well as photography. On ANY given day you will find me designing my dream home or working on photobook projects of my family or sketching landscaping plans for friends, family, and neighbors or hiking in beautiful scenic trails as I immerse myself in the beauty of God's artistry. My love for art is deep and infinite. You probably could not separate the molecules that make me a person from those that make an artist an artist. They are in every fiber of my being. So when I came across the mural project going on in downtown St. Pete around 2015, I nearly leaped out of my car (as I was driving) just to be among the colors and thoughts of those who created each of the individual pieces. The displays range in size from small street planters to the entire sides of buildings. In 2015, most of the murals were concentrated in alleys between Central Avenue and 1st Avenue North, from 4th Street all the way to 24th Street... but now they are literally all over the city. SHINE is a not-for-profit mural art project made up of local artists and members of the community and they have been hosting festivals for a number of years now. Each year new murals have been created and continue to enhance the city landscape for the enjoyment of local businesses, residents and tourists like me. There are paid walking tours available, but if you are crafty, you will find maps online that will self guide you on your own [free] walking tour. 2017 Mural video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVZjedi4wBg --- FINAL THOUGHTS I am completely in my element each time I wondrously drifted through the streets, alleyways and parking lots of St. Petersburg. Time seemed to be irrelevant as I was lost in each of the pieces and the creativity of the artists vision. I truly believe EVERY city should have a mural project that continuously expresses the beauty of thought. I'm so grateful my hometown of Atlanta has such a program. I am also grateful to have witnessed the beauty of this artistry alive all over St. Pete and happy to see it continues to expand and grow. If you have the capacity to truly appreciate the power of expression through art, you should make it a priority to experience these murals for yourself. But if travel is not possible, I've documented as many as I possibly could in the following pics. ENJOY! 2021 / 92

I found this cool piece of public art right before you enter the pier in St. Petersburg, Florida…read more This large free flowing net sculpture is very eye catching. The piece was made by internationally known, Tampa Bay native Janet Echelman. The title of the piece, Bending Arc is taken from Dr. Martin Luther King's words "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." Echelman decided to honor the civil rights movement because the site where the sculpture hangs was a location where local citizens protested segregation in the 1950's. The protests led to the 1957 US Supreme Court ruling that allowed people of all races to use the city beach and pool. According to the artist the new pier was designed to be welcoming to everyone. She has said "When I look at the piece moving in the wind you see these arcs move across as the wind blows through. It's a moment to contemplate the interconnectedness of the entire human race. And it's a reminder for us to be grateful for and celebrate the courage of the people who came before us. Who brought us to where we are and the job that we have to do bring ourselves forward again." The art installation was created to coincide with the open of the new 26 acre St. Petersburg Pier. Echelman has created several other net sculptures that are located all around the world. She took inspiration for this piece from historical postcards that had blue and white striped beach parasols and combined the colors with the geometric forms made by colonies of barnacles growing on the underside of the pier. When the wind blows it changes the shape of the soft sculpture. Bending arc is made of 1,662,528 light weight fiber knots and 180 miles of twine. It is made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), an engineered fiber which has been turned into a thread like textile. The strands are braided together and wrapped around sewing bobbins to form the mesh netting that is knotted by hand. The sculpture is 424 feet long and it is 72 feet at its tallest point. It covers 47,500 square feet and weighs a total of 5,330 pounds. The sculpture was paid for by private donors and its infrastructure was part of the new Pier District project. Echelman's contract for the piece with St. Petersburg was for $1.47 million dollars. During the day Bending Arc is blue and white. At night it is illuminated with LED lights so that it appears purple and magenta. You can see it across the water from the parks lining the bay. There are some chairs set up under the sculpture so you can sit and watch the wind blow the netting overhead. I love public art and this is just one of many interesting elements that have been added to the new pier.

Had a really nice experience coming across the art on the electric box in Clearwater. It is a small…read morebut creative piece of public art that adds a lot of character to an otherwise ordinary street corner. The design is colorful, detailed, and does a great job of turning something simple and overlooked into something interesting to look at. It is one of those little touches that shows how much the city cares about public art and making everyday spaces more visually appealing. It is a quick stop, but definitely worth pausing for if you are walking or driving through the area. The only reason it is not a full destination is simply because it is a smaller piece and does not take long to see, but it still leaves a positive impression. Overall, a cool and creative addition to Clearwater's public art scene. Easy 4 stars.

Public art can be found if you keep your eyes open! The City of Clearwater has been trying to…read moresupport public art projects to create some beauty and interest in an otherwise deserted and dreadful downtown area. Everyone knows and loves Clearwater Beach! But downtown and nearby neighborhoods are slowly becoming a place to find amazing public art! This piece is by Tim Boatwright and was funded by the City of Clearwater. Life is good with public art!

The design is colorful, unique, and full of intricate details that you do not usually see anywhere…read moreelse. Every corner has something interesting to look at, from the flowing shapes to the mosaic style elements that really capture that Gaudí inspired feel. It is one of those places where you keep stopping just to take everything in. The atmosphere is peaceful and artistic, making it a great spot for photos, inspiration, or just appreciating something truly different from your typical attraction. You can tell a lot of care and creativity went into every part of it. Overall, it is a must visit if you appreciate art, architecture, or just cool unique places. Easy 5 stars and a truly memorable experience.

Love this mosaic art installation in Safety Harbor, FL. There's so much cool public art in the…read morearea. They even have a cool list of them. This was the first time I saw Ode to Gaudi. It's a 40 ft bench decked out in mosaic art. Ode to Gaudi is named after a Spanish architect named Antoni Gaudi. The mosaic artists created this bench as a tribute to life in Spain - tradition, culture, and cuisine. It's so colorful with lots of fun designs all through out. Many of which you can find in Florida, like sunshine, sea, shore, & flowers. This is located on the back side of what is now Bicycle Boutique which use to be Tupelo on 4th. What a beautiful site to see.