Have You Seen This Giant New Mural Taking Up an Entire Maine Street?

THIS IS SO COOL. Walking through Portland, Maine, just got a lot more fun (and colorful).

Have you noticed the street mural that has shut down and progressively covered the pavement of the intersection between York & Pleasant with colors?

I couldn't take the curiosity anymore. I had to go take a walk and find out the scoop myself.

Every day on my way home from work, I pass this hard-working woman covered in paint, which continues to motivate me to find out what she's been doing.

So I decided to spontaneously park my Jeep and see if I could get a closer look at the mural on foot.

To my surprise, the artist was very willing to fill me in on the details of her work (which I always appreciate from a kind stranger).

Meet Jill Perry. She's the founder of Pamplemousse Studio right in Portland, Maine, who is also the sole artist behind this "Smile Portland" street mural pictured below.

This is the first of an anticipated five colorful murals she'll be painting on each intersection in this area to promote drivers to pay a little more attention to the foot traffic during tourist season.

Such a great idea.

We all know tourist season in Maine packs all our favorite beaches and bars a little extra in the summertime. It also packs our sidewalks and side streets with people on foot, which unfortunately also puts them in danger.

The idea is to capture your attention in this high-volume area while you're driving so that you don't miss a single human passing in front of you.

I also love how it uses positive reinforcement by telling us to smile. The world needs more of that.

When Jill shares some more details with me about what's coming next, I'll let you know.