601 14TH St S
(click for map)
This mural by George Rose engulfs the handball court in Campbell Park, at 601 14th Street South.
It’s actually painted on two handball courts – two three-sided concrete structures back to back and facing in opposite directions. Each court is shaped like a big letter C that’s lying on its side.
The structure has two long parallel walls, each 41 feet long and 16 feet high. These long walls are 20 feet apart, connected in the center by a wall that’s also 16 feet high but only 20 feet long. The mural covers the entire structure, inside and out. It’s artwork you can get inside and be surrounded by.
The background of the mural is bright electric blue. Glowing orange, gold and hot pink flowers spread up the walls and sprawl across the corners like an oversized tropical garden –flowers as big as cars, or couches.
The bright orange, gold and pink flowers explode against the vivid blue. Curved, bell-shaped flowers big enough for people to climb into, stretch toward the top. Sprawling flowers tangled in a massive fringe of petals, unfurl across the walls. And tall striated leaves stretch from top to bottom.
video by Marcus Oania
The flowers are mostly gold blending into orange on the upper third of the walls, melting into pink around the middle. Toward the bottom, the flowers start dissolving into the electric blue background, outlined in smokey blue.
Half of the flowers are Florida natives, and half are native to Australia. George Rose is based in Melbourne, Australia, and paints murals all over the world.
She painted all 8 of these walls in 8 days without any assistance, using only buckets, brushes and a paint sprayer.
She’s known for bright colors and lush foliage, on murals that have a positive feel.
This project was initiated by St. Pete photographer Michelle Tannu, who worked closely with the Campbell Park Recreation Department. Campbell Park residents asked for a bright, bold mural that would draw a diverse crowd to the park, and were thrilled to see George Rose’s vibrant artwork.