Thursday, June 6, 2013

Funk Zone

A few months ago, we were walking through the Funk Zone of Santa Barbara to take photos of the art on the walls of buildings. The art is changed every few months.


This door was one of my favorites on this visit.


Because of the detail shown in the next photo. You can click on any picture to see a larger version.


A closer look at some of the murals.



Almost all of Santa Barbara is beautiful, and offers lots of tourist attractions and scenic views. The Funk Zone is an unofficial area near to the beach that has retained its original charm. There are surf shops, a quirky surf museum, and lots of wine tasting spots. But we go for the murals.

There were three of us on this outing, so I don't know who took each photo, but all photos were processed by my husband.

15 comments:

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Tracy, thanks for sharing these lovely murals. I liked the ones with Marilyn Monroe's face (I think) and the sleeping cheetah (I think). Who paints the walls?

TracyK said...

Prashant, I don't know who paints each mural. Local artists who work in the area, I believe. If I find out more I will let you know. There were new ones when we visited last week; these were from December 2012.

Anonymous said...

Tracy - Oh, those are great 'photos! And it sounds as though you had a terrific trip too. I love the tree...

J F Norris said...

Lovely work. Those figures flying, falling and crawling around the door must've taken days to do! Something to look out for if we ever get to that part of California again. Last year we were much further north in the Santa Cruz area.

TracyK said...

Margot, we have always liked this area, but the murals have only been there for the last couple of years (I think). Lots of fun to explore.

TracyK said...

John, I hope you do get to see the area while it still has its unique charm. I think there are groups making efforts to make the area more posh. I like its appeal as it is.

Bill Selnes said...

TracyK: Thank you for providing vivid photos of an amazing set of walls. Have they become a tourist attraction?

TracyK said...

Bill, I don't know but there have never been a lot of people around when we are there (usually mid morning on a Saturday). I see a few more people in the area with wine tasting businesses.

col2910 said...

I prefer these to a lot of more conventional art. There's a lot of talent on display here.

Laurie C said...

It sounds as though these get painted over to make room for the next group? Good thing they've been preserved in photos, if so!

TracyK said...

Col, I agree. I think there must be a lot of dedication here also, to put them up out where they are exposed to the elements.

TracyK said...

Laurie, They do often get painted over. We went back very recently and the one with the orange/red door was still there, with embellishments. The others on either side had changed totally.

TracyK said...

I was mistaken, some of the murals are on plywood and get replaced at intervals. Don't know if they are saved anywhere.

Clothes In Books said...

Great pics! I have always wanted to visit Santa Barbara, for the excellent reason that Barbara is one of my favourite names, and I called my daughter that. So one day I'll make it, and enjoy the murals.

TracyK said...

Moira, Santa Barbara is a lovely place to visit. I love it sunny or overcast, rainy or not. But the Santa Barbara area does get a lot of overcast skies in the spring and summer months that some people don't like (called May Gray and June Gloom).