Please join me on a short street safari!
They say less is more. They are wrong! This post is my celebration of breaking the colour rules, drama, and excess. I believe that the ultimate over the top art form is public street art. It isn’t hidden away in a quiet, white-walled gallery. Instead, it aggressively introduces extreme color, towering scale, and complex patterns directly into everyday community spaces.
Globally inspired, locally outrageous, right here in Essex County. Situated as it is, in a very rural setting with no other businesses or homes around it, this mural and it’s exploding, vibrant yellow, festive wall art was a complete surprise to us the first time we happened upon it. It made us smile broadly, we simply couldn’t help ourselves. The sheer scale and unexpected location of the art scream over the top to me, in the very best way possible.
This beautifully dynamic artwork is on the wall of the Kawartha TV & Stereo Shop (where, co-incidentally, I bought my first, new, DSLR). I love this mural for its extreme visual energy —bold geometric shapes exploding on the right, floating musical notes, a stark black silhouette figure standing on the roof, and pop art portraits of legendary musical artists. The word “inspire” painted in a giant, sweeping font is the unifying component. This spectacular street art is a masterclass in maximalism, where every single square inch demands your attention.
Over the top street art is also shop owners letting their wild, unchecked creativity spill right out onto their lawns. The next two photos bring a touch of eccentricity to my collection, moving completely away from bold, painted murals into the world of weird and wonderful yard art with lots of quirky visual details.
Who says storefront signs have to be boring text and graphic images? The mosaic sign for Caroline Shuttle’s “Elements Glass Studio” is a wonderfully glittering overload of pure, lively color. Point of interest, the shop does not disappoint!
This scene features a bold, modern, geometric barn quilt depicting a stylised butterfly, mounted against a rustic, weathered barn board shop. But the real showstopper is the “Terracotta Tenant” — a life-sized human sculpture built entirely with stacked flowerpots. The creative genius behind this display went beautifully overboard curating a charming, eye-catching and appealing display.
Today’s street safari concludes with a museum that understands exactly how to make a bold and lasting impression. Instead of a modestly typical urban sign, The Canadian Canoe Museum made an audacious statement that completely redefines the scale of public signage. At first glance, visitors are hit with a sprawling, high-contrast “Welcome & Bienvenue” mural stretched out beneath a towering, empty brick wall. The bold canoe silhouettes and giant typography are impossible to miss.
But the real over the top surprise happens when you walk around the corner. The entire block is wrapped in massive, block-letter street art identifying the building as the home of The Canadian Canoe Museum, a vital piece of local heritage. The building is now a well-known landmark, and an immersive street art experience.
Like a community quilt, truly creative street art is an expressive collection of loud, individual, and stunningly beautiful pieces stitched together into something completely and pleasingly over the top.
Many thanks to Egidio for devising this very unique challenge for us — this one definitely pushed me far out of my comfort zone! Egidio’s photographs are wonderfully amazing examples of over the top and his narrative is informative and highly entertaining. I urge you to check out his post — you’ll be purely amazed, I promise:
Lens-Artists Challenge #408: Over the Top
’Til next time, y’all…
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