iN PHOTOS: Murals brighten spaces, tell local stories in Kamloops, Okanagan

Murals add pops of colour to the sides of buildings in Kamloops and the Okanagan, and showcase the unique character and artistic talents each city has to offer. Kelowna resident Elisa Johnson learned how to master riding her motorcycle while touring throughout the Thompson-Okanagan region doing what she loves best: discovering and photographing murals. “My first year, I taught myself to ride downtown in winter, taking mural pictures and it just carried on from there,” she said. “I’m inspired by the art, murals are so beautiful and my hobby is to ride around finding them."  Out of all the murals she has photographed her favourite is located on Harvey Avenue in Kelowna. The mural is of horses running and it's enormous. She often includes her motorcycle in the image to add scale. “It’s my absolute favourite one and it’s pretty new, done by students from UBCO,” Johnson said. “I had to go see it right away, even though it was raining, I love horses."  READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: Splish, splash birds take a bath in Kamloops, Okanagan https://infotel.ca/newsitem/in-photos-splish-splash-birds-take-a-bath-in-kamloops-okanagan/it104564 Johnson has toured through Kamloops, Chase, Salmon Arm, Vernon and Kelowna admiring murals and will be visiting Grand Forks this summer to see more. A mural is an ancient art form dating back to prehistoric times with famous works found around the world. What makes it different from other forms of picture art is how it is directly connected to architecture, where the elements of the painting can change how a building looks spatially, according to Britannica https://www.britannica.com/art/mural-painting/The-High-Renaissance . Artists paint a picture on a scale that works with the structures on the wall and the idea they are expressing. Some murals have social or political themes while others tell a local story. Many murals have a surprising three-dimensional effect that appears to alter the wall it is on.  Readers will likely recognize many of these murals included in this collection. If you have a photo of a favourite mural in your city you want to add, send it to news@infonews.ca mailto:news@infonews.ca . To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie mailto:sainslie@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .