Monday, January 21, 2013

Chloride, Arizona by photographer James Derek Oliphant | 01.19.13

Saturday we loaded up the Jeep and headed out to create some Art and explore.  Our destination, Chloride, Arizona; a mining town, a ghost town an artistic town...










Upon entering this historic town you'll run right into Digger Dave's, a Saloon and Restaurant that speaks volumes with a rustic front and warm interior.


Proprietors Dave & Dori greeted us like old friends and served up one of the best lunches we've had in some time.

While waiting on our lunch, we spotted an original Grand Prix pinball machine in the corner.  This exact same machine was located in the corner store by my Grandmother's house when I was kid!  I wasn't a big gamer, but I did enjoy this one because it reminded me of Speed Racer...


...and as we continued to explore this cool place, look who we find in the corner,  Mr. Speed Racer himself.  At this moment I knew I would be visiting Digger Dave's again.

After lunch we walked it off with more exploration.  The textures were in abundance as you can see in the church photograph above.  The church is actually part of a mock old-west town where they stage gunfights during the summer months.

Within this mock town you'll find the Chloride Museum, a converted home from the early 1900's.  The image above was created from one of the bedrooms.  I love this image, it reminds me of my grandmother.



Chloride, Arizona is world renown for its murals.  The murals are painted on the side of a cliff and are truly inspirational.  Artist Roy Purcell first gained national attention as an artist in 1966 when he painted the 2000 square feet murals  Forty years later Mr. Purcell refurbished the work which you see above.


Overall it was a great outing, we produced some great Art in this cool little town in the desert.  Please contact the studio if you'd like to purchase any of our images.

all the best,
OLIPHANT