Monday, February 16, 2009

Ocala Horse Fever 1

Horse Fever, a public art project begun in 2001, has now produced well over 50 life-size painted horses which can be found in areas all over town. Sponsored by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association, this project caught the public's imagination and has raised over $1 million for charity.

The painted horses were decorated by local and regional artists and many, if not all, have names, which I can't remember.

The horse pictured is one of four standing on the corners of the town square in the old downtown area. In days to come, I'll post other photos of other of these beauties found in other locations.

12 comments:

cieldequimper said...

That's a great idea! I love the colours of this one, blending in so well with the trees...

Janet said...

I enjoy seeing these art projects. Our town has painted butterflies.

Unknown said...

This is pretty cool! After the 'Cow parade', I've seen elephants, camels and now horses! Great! :-)

Ken Mac said...

LSD worthy colors! Thanks for your recent visit, that is the original Woolworth building, home of the once all powerful dime store chain...and America's first skyscraper!

Anonymous said...

awesome!!!

Hilda said...

I'm going to like this series! This one is wonderful! Love the bright, cheerful colors.

Meg said...

Methinks he's having an identity crisis. ?? Love the trees behind, though.

Dottie Jo said...

Thanks for visiting my blog! I'm having a great time! I'll definitely be following yours as well - my parents live in Lake Wales, FL, so your photos of Florida make me feel like I'm there with them.
We have painted horses here in Bucks County as well. They are in Doylestown, which is where the courts are located. It is fun to see them pop up as you drive around the area. This one is beautiful!

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

We had these same horses when I lived in Syracuse, NY a few years back and many are still around. This is a nice one.

Lowell said...

Mary Taitt - that's fascinating. I thought this was dreamed up by Ocalans. Oh well, you can never tell these days. But they are fun to see around town. I'll be posting more in the future.

Thanks for landing on my blog and commenting.

Birdman said...

Love the horse shot! Interesting---here in southern Maine--- same deal but with Lighthouses!

Anonymous said...

Cool! Aiken, SC has the horses as well. We had turtles here but it wasn't quite as successful.

"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." — Henri Cartier-Bresson