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Photo Essay |
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St Petersburg Pet ProjectArtist Anna Hamilton is the artist behind the St Petersburg Pet Project. She is painting a mural of pets on the Gas Plant Antique Arcade's exterior wall! PARTY FOR THE PAWS | View the Flyer Event is raising funds for a rescue dog named Lotus. Watch the video from Pet Pal! Anna is the creative director for MURALS FOR MUTTS - Saving Pets One Brushstroke at a Time! Murals for Mutts, Inc. raises money for animal welfare by painting pet portraits and pet murals in communities around the country. While Anna Hamilton is well-known for her Dunedin mural, she has recently undertaken an enormous project on the Gas Plant Antique Arcade's exterior wall in St Petersburg. I heard about the mural from Annette Baesel who decided to have her Sweetie Wheatie included in the mural to honor her pet’s memory. I took the pictures in the photo essay on the day Annette was working with Anna to pick a location for Sweetie Wheatie’s portrait. While there, Jim Alexander saw @purdyz and stopped by to chat. Both Annette and Jim are the first of the St Petersburg Twitter crew that I had met both online and in person when I started tweeting back in 2009. Jim was instrumental in starting tweetups in the St Petersburg area and is a social media consultant. Jim tweets as @jimalexanderjr and Annette tweets as @abaesel2. When I arrived Anna was mixing her paints. I had to do a double take, because she was not using a painter's palette. Instead she was using a dog bowl to mix her paints! I was able to watch Anna draw and paint the pets. She explained that she takes a picture and sketches an outline. Then she mixes colors to match the pet's coat. Anna stated that the talent came naturally to her. She recalled her parent's story of her early renderings. When she was five years old, she showed her parents a rendering of a horse. They were elated at her talent and encouraged her. While I was watching her paint, Ron stopped by to see the portrait of Lucy, the much beloved family pet. Lucy was very close to the family but his wife was especially close. Lucy had recently passed and Ron surprised his wife with Lucy's portrait on her birthday. Needless to say, she was in tears. You can stop by and watch Anna painting pet portraits in the morning. She stops when Florida's hot sun reaches the wall. If you would like your pet's portrait painted, you can contact Anna on the Murals For Mutts Web site. Gas Plant Antiques Arcade is located on the corner of Central Avenue and 13th Street. The building is across from Ferg's Sports Bar. You cannot miss the building because it is painted all pink, except for the ever growing assortment of dogs and cats! From the mural, you can see Tropicana Stadium. This is where the Tampa Bay Rays play baseball. So when you are going to the game or an event at the "Trop," stop by and see Anna Hamilton's mural, the St Petersburg Pet Project! DJ Kitty, a Ray's celeb has a portrait there showing off his turntable skills. He has become a cult figure and gets Rays fans excited with dancin’ DJ skills. DJ Kitty also tweets as @RaysDJKitty! The Gas Plant building is a landmark in St Petersburg and is now an arcade full of vendors. There is quite a collection of old furniture and eclectic items. You can pick up an old money clip for three dollars or shop for an array of bracelets and trinkets. The second floor is under construction and is being made into an art gallery. Several images in the photo essay are from inside the Gas Plant Antique Arcade. The photo essay was taken just a few weeks after Anna started the mural. Check back as I will be adding more pictures! Parking is available on both Central Avenue and 13th Street. In addition, the Central Avenue Trolley runs along Central Avenue and stops across the street at Ferg's Sports Bar. It only costs 25 cents, but for seniors it is 10 cents. You can really experience many of the art galleries by parking and hopping on and off the trolley. Unfortunately, I will not be there to chronicle the official unveiling of the St Petersburg Pet Project mural. I was one of 150 people selected via the NASA Twitter contest to attend the two day NASA Tweetup and launch of the last space shuttle, Atlantis. Watching Anna paint all those pet portraits had me thinking of my Dalmatian. His name was Alvin and I named him after Alvin, the chipmunk, because he was a hand full! I will always remember that when I could not find Alvin, I could always find him resting in my Jeep CJ-7's passenger seat. The picture below is Alvin resting in his seat! He was thirteen years old when he passed. Should I ask Anna to paint his portrait? Let me know what you think by contacting me on Twitter at @5wa. |
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