What was once a dull corrugated fence has been transformed into a conversation piece. Anyone who glances at this fence while passing by will feel compelled to stop at stare, partially because it’s such a great work of art but also because it raises so many questions. Who is this escaping convict? Will he survive the frigid waters? Perhaps only Tom Bob knows the answer to these questions, but we love experiencing such evocative art!
Here’s another example of Tom Bob’s unique ability to see unused metal pieces in the ground and envision something beautiful. These plates were transformed into adorable turtles crawling along the street. You probably won’t see real turtles wandering down the sidewalks in NYC, but this is a great alternative! Can you imagine walking down the street and seeing these cute little friends in your path? It’d be enough to put a smile on almost anyone’s face.
The temperatures in NYC may not get high enough to literally fry eggs on the sidewalk, but it certainly gets hot enough to cause traffic cones to collapse like this! This is a fairly normal scene in the hot NYC summers since construction is a never-ending project around the city. These traffic cones often get left behind until they’re needed for the next project, but Tom Bob decided to do something special with one of the abandoned orange cones. He painted an exhausted face with large sweatdrops running down its forehead. Everyone passing by can empathize with that cone!
Another abandoned metal grate has met Tom Bob’s impressive creativity in this photo. The grate looks pretty grimy and unkempt sitting in the middle of the road like that, so Tom Bob made a piece that covers up the eyesore and helps people find their way around! This compass looks fabulous, and the hands are pointing in the right direction. If any tourists get lost while wandering down this road, they can always look at Bob’s compass to help them find their way.
Some of Tom Bob’s work around the city is more simple than others, but it still packs a powerful punch! While painting this cute frog may not seem as wild as some of the other transformative pieces on this list, it’s still an impressive display of creativity and talent. The frog’s eyes easily cover the little circles in the building, and it even looks as though the frog is sitting on a tree stump. We love this happy cartoon frog and the positivity he’s spreading.
Drains are there to serve a purpose, but that doesn’t mean they can’t look shiny and cool while they’re hard at work! When most of us look at a drain cover like the one in this picture, we don’t think twice about what we see. But Tom Bob’s mind works in different ways, which is what allows him to see beyond the physical objects in front of him and imagine what they could be. He transformed this drain cover into a shiny new screw, which looks great!
How many of us remember spending hours outside every day playing with friends? Most kids love engaging in a few rounds of jump rope with their friends! Tom Bob turned this average bicycle parking space into a nostalgic art piece showing a few young kids playing jump rope. Not only does the art piece look great (just like all his pieces!), but it also triggers that comfortable feeling that takes us back to childhood.
You can’t help but feel inspired by the way Tom Bob manages to transform dull, everyday objects into something creative. He reimagined this drain pipe into a snorkel and painted an adorable kid going on a snorkeling adventure. We love the tube he painted around the child because it’s very reminiscent of the types of tubes you’d see in the early 90s. There’s that nostalgia hitting us again!
Several of Tom Bob’s pieces around the city feature cute little caterpillars, but this has to be one of our favorites. He used the light piece as the inspiration for this artwork, turning the lights into the eyes of the caterpillar. He even incorporated the light’s wiring as one of the caterpillar’s antennae! When you need to find your way through this building, just follow the glowing eyes of the caterpillar. That actually sounds a little creepy, but it looks awesome!
Out of all the major cities in the United States, NYC seems like the perfect place to find Captain America. This Marvel Avenger is known for his strong moral values and his dedication to protecting the innocent. NYC can be a dangerous place, but when you have Captain America watching your back, you know everything’s going to be okay. We love the creativity displayed in this piece and the message it sends to the community.
We’re going to round out this list with another example of Tom Bob’s unique creativity and connection to his community. He found an oddly textured piece of this building and painted an image of a young boy enjoying a nice chocolate bar! Not only did he transform the building of yet another mom-and-pop shop, but he also gave that business a significant boost. Can you imagine how many more people must stop and go in after admiring this piece of art? Tom Bob is helping residents of this community through his art in a variety of different ways and we’re here for it!