Street Art Around the World

The sides of buildings have become a blank canvass for artists to create unique and often whimsical murals. While there is still graffiti in plenty of places, a lot of it has mostly been replaced by interesting works of art. Although not everyone is a fan of the works that can be found in cities everywhere, we have certainly seen some interesting ones. Obviously the quality of the artwork depends on the talent of the artist and the choice of subjects can be political or can sometimes offend as well. The notion of using walls of buildings to tell a visual story is nothing new as we witnessed by seeing all of the hieroglyphs on the ancient temples in Egypt. These murals aren’t restricted to the outside of buildings, it is also common to see them painted on the walls of restaurants as well. What do you think, are the paintings on the walls artwork or an eyesore?

Space Themed Art in Denver
Building in Quito, Ecuador
Painted Building in Reykjavik, Iceland
The Lennon Wall in Prague
Sandhill Cranes Painted on Wall in Southern Colorado
Temple of Horace in Edfu, Egypt
Artwork in Cochabamba, Bolivia
Sante Fe, New Mexico
Wall in Brasov, Romania
Restaurant Wall in Prague
Painted Wall Above Elevators in Denver
Wall in Mexican Restaurant
Chinatown Mural
Hungarian Street Art
Street Art in Panama City, Panama
Fish Mosaic Wall in Vietnam

The Weathered Buildings of Panama City, Panama

Living in a tropical environment sounds like it would be an amazing experience, but with all of the rain, humidity, and wind, it is a constant battle to keep buildings from decaying. When we were in Panama City in Panama, we visited the historic old town area known as Casco Viejo and we spent several hours over a few days walking the different side streets of the town. Obviously the desire is to keep the historic buildings the same as their original construction, but the older materials are not as resistant to weather as new materials are. It makes for an interesting effect to see the buildings in different states of decay and there seemed to be ongoing repairs throughout the old town area.

Nature Taking Over
Colorful and Beautiful Despite the Decay
Fighting the Tropical Conditions
Contrasting the New and Old
Church Bell Tower
Unique and Interesting
No Roof or Window
Industrial Building
Not Much Remaining

Colorful Buildings

Especially in dense cities, it is not uncommon to have certain buildings painted with bright colors in order to stand out. Whether it is the entire building front or just the doors and windows, it is a way to make a unique statement in an otherwise homogeneous landscape. A lot of the time it is a business that is trying to draw your attention, but a lot of the time is a residential home where the owners simply expressing their uniqueness. We enjoy seeing these buildings during our travels and often take photographs of them even though they aren’t of any historical significance. Here are just a few of the colorful buildings that we have seen during our travels.

Colorful Doors and Windows in an Irish Seaside Village
Colorful Building with Canal Views
Interesting Color Patterns in La Paz, Bolivia
Colorful Architecture in Bratislava
Colorful Buildings of Reykjavik
Colorful Doors in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia
One of the Many Colorful Buildings in New Orleans