
Audio By Carbonatix
Artist: Leslie-Jean Thornton
Medium: Digital Photography
This was taken in April 2011 — a grab shot seen by chance as I was driving near Roosevelt in downtown Phoenix. The garden took my breath so I pulled over to capture the image. Suddenly, a woman appeared in the perfect hollyhock-matching dress in the well-placed branch-formed arch. Click.
I love how the parking meter grows in the flowers. The scene, for me, epitomizes how Phoenix comes to life fleetingly, vibrantly and in cycles, and how beauty is spotted by looking. Two months later, that was a dirt garden.
97. Jason Hill’s Phoenix Financial Center96. Kyle DeWitt’s Tempe Center for the Arts95: Allison Elliott’s Walls of Downtown Phoenix
94. Fausto Fernandez’s Grid City
93. Chikara Kakizawa’s Ship Out of Water
92: Dayvid LeMmon’s Process / Gentrification
91. Irma Sanchez’s Phoenix Rising
90. Eduardo Rivera’s De Colores
89. Arnold Guerrero’s Camelback Mountain
88. Sean Deckert’s Ginae vs. the 12th Street Gang
87. Pete Petrisko’s Admiral of Phoenix
86. Quincy Ross’ Lone Skyscraper
85. Andrew Armstrong’s Illustrated Cityscape
84. Thomas Schultz’s Phoenix Artifact
83. Adrian Lesoing’s N. Evergreen
82. Suzanne Falk’s Kon Tiki Hotel
80. Kevin Patterson’s Phoenix Swamp Beast
79. Ramy Sidarous’ Three Windows
78. Will Mejia’s Orpheum Theatre
77. Steve Weiss’ Portrait of Louis Lee
76. Larry Willis’ Apparition on East McDowell
75. Claire Warden’s Untitled No. 3
74. Randy Zucker’s Dancing Saguaro
73. Robert Brandan Martinez’s Medical Cannabis Tax Stamp
72. Edward Jensen’s Phoenix Financial Center71. Andrew Knochel’s View from PURL70. Mark Dudlik’s Phoenix Rebound69. C.J. Dyer’s Bird’s Eye View68. Virginia Martinez’s Airport Scene67. Carrie Marill’s “It’s a Cowboy State”66. Eric Iwersen’s The Saguaros Have Been Here the Longest65. Danielle D’Aleo’s 602far64. Jesa Townsend’s Stars of Flowers63. Andrew Pielage’s Sandra Day O’Connor Courthouse62. Carol Panaro-Smith and James Hajicek’s Arc of Departure
61. A Military Parade in Phoenix (c. 1888)60. Charles Anthony Darr’s Phoenix Haboob59. Lisa Marie Sipe’s Sweeping Succulent
58. Brad Armstrong’s Phoenix Carnival
57. B. Spiderman’s “… And I Never Did Get That Pony Either”
56. Colton Brock’s 810 N. 4th St.
55. Melanie and Michelle Craven’s Twin Cactus
53. Betty Schlueter’s “The Sonoran”
52. Saskia Jorda’s “You are Here – Part I: Migration”
51. Tempe’s Mill Avenue (c. 1930)
50. Michael and Kemper Goodwin’s City Hall
49. Cornelius Keyes’ Dust Storm Over Phoenix
48. Melissa McGurgan’s Home Suite Home: PHX
47. Fred Tieken’s Western Civilization
46. Andy Brooks and Danny Stoeller’s I CACTUS PHX
44. Kristin Heggli’s Downtown Architecture43. Jill Johnson’s Downtown Is …42. Peter Bugg and William LeGoullon’s Embedded
41. Downtown’s Hotel San Carlos (c. 1940)40. Rembrandt Quiballo’s Cinematic Panorama39. Sebastien Millon’s “Phoenix. It’s Fabulous.”38. Howdy from Phoenix37. beth tom’s “we live here” 36. Merz Studio’s Professional Building35. Evan Wyloge’s View from 44 Monroe34. Harry Herz’s Hole in Rock 33. Jason Kernevich and Dustin Summers’ The Valley of the Sun
32. Laura Spalding Best’s “Tarnish No. 1”
31. Jac T Bowen’s Ferdinand the Bull and The Court of Flowers in Christown Spectrum Mall30. John Scott Goodson’s Civic Space Park29. Street Map of Phoenix (c. 1932)28. Rose Johnson’s Prayer of St. Francis27. Eric Cox’s Superstition26. Aaron Forjan’s Tone-Mapped Guadalupe25. Peter Martori’s Walking Central 400124. Greg Esser and Christina Felix’s DIY Arts District23. Vintage Orange Trees of Mesa
22. Stacey Champion’s Between Here and There
And, hey! It’s lunch time. Check out Chow Bella’s 100 Favorite Dishes for some foodie inspiration.
Have a suggestion for a Phoenix icon by a local creative? Leave it in the comments section or email Claire.Lawton@newtimes.com