Drive down Murphy Road from the west, and you will come to one of the best-known murals in Nashville, the sunflower mural on Import Flowers. It’s not on 12 South or in the Gulch or Downtown, but it shows up in a lot of articles telling you what murals you need to visit in Nashville. The owner of Import Flowers, John Farrel, says that their parking lot is often half full with cars of people getting their picture taken in front of it – the other half by cars of people coming to battle at a Pokemon hot spot right behind their dumpster. Hopefully, some of those folks buy flowers! The mural is by Mark Palen. Tim Ghianni did a profile of him for The Nashville Scene a few years back, or you can see him talk about his art and career in a video as well. Palen has at least two websites, one displayed on the mural that he may not be updating anymore, and another that seems more current. You can also find him on Instagram. There are a couple of hidden elements, at least. Look real close to find Lisa Simpson, and there’s a word hidden in the flowers. This Scene article will help you find it. There is another mural on the other side done by local youth artists some years ago – I’m working on researching their identities, and I’ll post about it when I find them.
Located at 3636 Murphy Road. The mural faces 37th Avenue North. Import Flowers has parking, as mentioned. Buy some flowers and enjoy the art!
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