A new mural brings a bounty of vibrant life to the city of Hamilton. Artist Christian Dallas' finished the "Garden of the Dogs" mural with StreetSparks last month, and celebrated its completion on Oct. 15.
The 155-foot-long mural features seven bulldogs — Hamilton High School's mascot — hidden among state plants and insects like buckeyes, carnations, trilliums and a lady bug and other symbolic plants including daffodils, marigolds and peonies (which represent rebirth, creativity and prosperity, respectively).
The mural was the third completed this summer by StreetSpark, and the 14th project in five years. The organization is a partnership between the City of Hamilton, the Hamilton Community Foundation and the Fitton Center for Creative Arts.
"Planning for the murals is many months in the making, and with the the lockdown in March, we were unsure if this year's murals would be able to proceed," reads a press release from StreetSpark.
"But we have had incredible support from the City of Hamilton's Health Department and great deal of encouragement also. This year's murals all went ahead, with just a few few scheduling changes to adapt to new circumstances."
Davis is rather familiar with painting large-scale murals — he works with ArtWorks as well as does private commissions. Davis was accompanied by supporting artist Latosha Stone, the creator of Proper Gnar, "the first Black woman-owned skateboard company," who was recently featured on Beyonce's website and Elle magazine, the press release reads. Other artists included Mark Hanavan, Olga Klepinger, Emily Mason and Sydnie Reatherford.
"Garden of the Dogs" is located at 190 N. Brookwood Ave. in Hamilton.
