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“Bloom Where You Are Planted”

The 25 foot spiral vortex sunflower mural located in Murray Hill, Jacksonville, Florida is a tribute to famous artist Vincent Van Gogh!

Painted by Brenda Kato with glass embellishments by Mary Allegretti.
Please use the #brendakato hashtag when you post your selfies.

Buy Sunflower Merch!
This was the ninth mural created in 2017 as part of the Murray Hill Preservation Association’s Community Beautification Project. 

Building owner Michael Danhour selected Brenda’s sunflower design for the second of three murals on his building.

LOCATION

4045 Post St, Jacksonville, FL 32205

Find the mural yourself or take the Murray Hill mural tour.

The sunflower mural is now on Google Maps as a tourist destination so it can be found easily and fans can leave reviews.

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Brenda Kato Sunflower Mural Murray Hill Jacksonville
The sunflower mural has been a very successful community project for Murray Hill Preservation Association (MHPA)! Many families helped create this mural which has become a popular landmark and destination for the community to take photos and selfies. Brenda has gotten tagged on social media by people from all over the world using the #brendakato hashtag. If this sunflower mural has made you smile, please let us know by leaving a Google Review.

PRESS

Jax Examiner

“Bloom Where You Are Planted Unveiled in Mural Hill” July 8, 2017 by Dave Burkey
Read Article

At Home On Hudson

“Cool Spots for Photos in Jacksonville, Florida” by Sami Mastrario
Read Article

Chic Booth

“JAX Murals” June 6, 2019 by Chicbooth
Read Article

The Resident Community News Group, Inc.

“Murray Hill resident, artist makes her mark on neighborhood” By Kate A. Hallock
Read Article

RAVE REVIEWS

The sunflower mural has brought so much joy to me and my family. Sunflowers radiate joy and happiness. I absolutely love it! Sunflowers symbolize unwavering faith and unconditional love. What an amazing message to share with all of God’s people. God’s love is unconditional. 
Marla Mckenna

Author

The Sunflower Wall Mural, like any other good mural or community art, enhances the atmosphere of the area, evokes positive emotions, makes me smile, and brings joy to me and my family.  The sunflower mural has improved Murray Hill and made Murray Hill feel special.
Swetlana Al

I believe the Sunflower mural is an example of the wonderful public art that has come to Murray Hill. The fact that there are multiple expressions of aesthetics in one of Jacksonville’s oldest neighborhoods helps show that this part of the town celebrates a beautiful part of our human soul, the part of us that loves to create. Public art is crucial to all art because it sets the tone…public art gives us all permission to create. It is bright and beautiful, and its public display encourages all who see it to remember the joy of creating.
Paul Zetterower

Doctor

When this piece first came across the internet many years ago, I immediately took a screenshot and edited the photo to add the artist’s name, Brenda Kato, (to give fair credit), and then used it as my cover picture on Facebook for many years. After living in the area for many years, and since moving away, I have always seen this painting as one of

the visual assets of the area. It’s sort of a given that this expected beauty would always be a part of the neighborhood. The mural clearly takes off as a more contemporary extension of Van Gogh’s contributions and it has always seemed as though the Murray Hill neighborhood felt the privilege of having such a stunningly beautiful painting grace its neighborhood. So big, so bright, so breathtaking.

Over the years, I have seen others post pictures on social media of friends, family, and visitors who have had their pictures taken while standing in front of the mural. Bloom Where You Are Planted is a beautiful asset to the Murray Hill Community.

Toni Ford

Massage Therapist, Dragonfly Massage

The sunflower mural is beautiful and a statement to the area, but the significance of the sunflower, specifically to the Christian faith, faces the heavens, always looking to the sun/Son. Additionally, the message of the sunflower is to bloom where you’re planted. As a Christian, I would like to think that the mural would help remind me to “bloom where I’m planted”. Further, the seed of the sunflower is nourishment to our bodies, as the Spirit is nourishment to our souls.
Jennifer Yates

Photographer

The sunflower mural has been a Pokemon Go stop for several years!
Find the mural yourself or take the Murray Hill mural tour. Location: 4045 Post St, Jacksonville, FL 32205

PRESS RELEASE FOR THE UNVEILING

Who: Brenda Kato & Mary Allegretti
What: Sunflower Mural Unveiling
Where: 4045 Post Street, Jacksonville, FL 32205
When: July 8th, 1-3 p.m.

Mark your calendar for the Sunflower Mural Unveiling in Murray Hill on July 8 from 1 – 3 p.m., located at 4045 Post Street. The 25-foot-tall mural was designed and painted by local illustrator, Brenda Kato. Local artist Mary Allegretti also embellished the painting with her glass art. They had many volunteers from the community as well, all ages joined together to create this beautiful community art project. 

Jacksonville, FL, June 8, 2017 – This mural is their first artistic collaboration. The brightly colored mural is on the back alley wall of the J&W Discounts building facing Edgewood Avenue next to another beautiful Jellyfish mural painted by Meredith Sullivan. The full blue moon, glowing stars and the tops of the tallest sunflowers can be seen towering over the Edgewood Diner that sits on the corner of Post Street and Edgewood Avenue. This is the ninth mural to be completed as part of the Murray Hill Preservation Association’s mural project managed by Jason Tetlack.

Brenda has named the mural “Bloom Where You Are Planted” as a reminder to think positively and give back to your community. “My sunflower paintings have become very popular because they are a lot of fun. They make people smile and have energy vortex spirals in the middle. I recently illustrated a children’s book “I’m A Secret Superhero,” by Marla McKenna and added these similar sunflowers because the book is about the power of positive thinking. The superhero grows a big field of sunflowers. I have always loved the huge, dramatic flower,” said Brenda Kato.

After living in Astoria, Queens, NY near some of the best street art in the world, Brenda jumped at the chance to contribute to her hometown neighborhood’s public art project. She had always noticed so many places around Jacksonville that would be great for murals but never pursued it so she’s thankful to Jason and MHPA for doing the initial leg work to make this happen. MHPA put out a call to artists last year, and then took the submitted artwork to local property owners to promote participation. They raised funds to pay for the cost of paint. The Paint Craft Store also donated paint to the projects. The new owner of J&W Discount Store, Michael Danhour has done a great job improving the appearance of the large older building which now will be a cherished landmark.

Brenda invited her friends and family to help paint the mural which took about two months. “I have a very demanding day job so it took many nights and weekends. I was thrilled when Mary Allegretti expressed interest in blinging up the mural with her glass art. Mary is  an extremely talented and well known artist. I am placing a plaque next to the mural with the photos and names of all the people who helped me complete this project. We’ve helped make history, and I hope they will be proud of this mural for years to come,” Brenda stated.

Follow Brenda’s art on social media. #brendakatoart

There are three more murals underway in the Murray Hill area and if people would like to see more murals in the future, they should donate to Murray Hill Preservation Association to help pay for supplies and artists. Learn more at murrayhilljax.com.