Pimp that bus

If you happened to be riding or walking over the Dunbar Bridge along Bronson over the Ottawa River on Saturday, September 11, 2010, you might have been a bit surprised to see a school bus on the soccer pitch.

If you went down through Brewer Park, you would have seen the signs advertising House of PainT, an annual graffiti and hip-hop festival held at Ottawa's first legal graffiti wall.

The bus was there to be painted. It's owned by Centretown residents Caleb Dykstra and Hana Haines, who plan to convert the bus tinto an R.V./buffet and drive down to Nicaragua filled with sports equipment and school supplies.

More on their trip are covered in this News EMC article and this Ottawa Citizen article.

The Highway Traffic Act (and similar laws between Ontario and Nicaragua) restrict the distinctive yellow paint scheme to vehicles being operated as school bus, so this machine needed to be painted.

It created a natural synergy with House of Paint. By the end of the day, much of one side and the front were painted...

...but much of the bus was still yellow. Note the camouflage on the mirror. Nice effect!

The bus was moved under the bridge and painted on subsequent days. Some photos are on the HOP 2010 photo album.

Moving on under the bridge, this was my first time at House of Paint.

Since there wasn't too much to see while the painting was going on, a DJ and breakdancing floor provided some entertainment. Like the occasional breakdancing mayoral candidate.

It is nevertheless interesting to see the techniques and watch the work in progress.

Especially in comparison to the finished product.

This work was here from before, on the underside of the bridge, depicting a giant mushroom breaking through the roadway to the night sky above. I like it.

With the large, concrete bridge deck above, the painted walls, and the crowd gathered around a central platform, there was a feeling of an urban cathedral.

Later on in the evening, after the painting stopped, the music and dancing went on.

People admired the finished works.

There's some really good work on there!