Girl With A Pearl Earring

Before leaving Tauranga I had one particular photo I wanted to shoot; Girl with a Pearl Earring, a two storey replica of the famous 17th century painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. This is the first of 15 murals to be completed around central Tauranga by the very talented artist Owen Dippie or OD as he prefers to be known.

I've been following the work of OD for a number of years & have taken many photos of his amazing street art. He is a regular visitor to New York, Melbourne & Auckland where his work adorns many buildings, both legitimately & not so. As is the case with a lot of street art or graffiti as it can sometimes be known, one day it's there, the next it's gone. The work below only lasted a matter of weeks before it was painted over.

My all time favourite piece of art by OD is a replica of the legendary portrait of Ina Te Papatahi, of Nga Puhi (tribe), painted by Charles Goldie in 1902. C F Goldie was a well-known New Zealand artist, famous for his portrayal of Maori dignitaries.

Here's a selection of some of OD's work located around Tauranga & Mt Maunganui-

Michael & Elvis

Notorious B.I.G. from OD's 'Respect for The Dead' series

Princess Di

Johnny Cash

Albert Einstein

 

"Justice League" after Alex Ross

The second of the 15 works of art that will grace Tauranga by the end of summer. I'm disappointed I won't be able to follow the progress but I'll be looking forward to visiting so I can catch up on the new art works.

Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam