animals on the walls of Montreal

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Mary C

below: “Siamoises” – What looks like twin cats in red dresses is actually a row of identical kitties, but the spotlight is on those two. A mural by Mono Sourcil, aka Maxlie Martel.

mural on a red brick wall in Montreal, circle, night with moon in the sky, two identical cats standing, wearing identical red dresses

below: SBU One’s red rooster, or red chicken.

below: Designed by ANYO – squirrels with different coloured hats. I have only shown two, red and turquoise, but there are many more out there….. how many have you seen?!

graffiti sticker on metal, a squirrel wearing a red hat

below: Giraffes

below: A wish for peace and love, amor et paix, for Ukraine.

yellow and blue background, a white dove with word paix which is french for peace

yellow and blue background, three white dovess with word amor and paix which is french for love and peace

below: A small portion of a large mural by Pantonio showing two of the many birds in the mural – a large bluish black bird and a cute little purple and white bird.

part of a larger mural by Pantonio,two birds, one is small purple, and white, the other is larger a blackbird

below: “Mechanic Bird” by Dede Bandaid & Nitzan Mintz, with text: “Of my dozens of keys, the smallest one opens home”

black and white mural on side of brick building, a bird with large wings

below: This rendition of Daffy Duck is the work of Simon Beaulieu – throwup “text” says Simple.

below: Dog (wolf?) with laser eyes.

below: It’s an animal, right? The blue creature on the left. It was painted by Cryote and the whole panel was a collaboration with Labrona and Waxhead.

below: Buzzzzzz……

little yellow bee with open wings, graffiti

Photos taken September 2024

downtown Syracuse

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Mary C

below: Put the “U” back in Syracuse, by Ally Walker

mural in syracuse new york, text with word syracuse with the u slightly askew, put the u back in syracuse

below: sAlt City by Brett Snyder and Irene Cheng, 2012. Mosaic of squares and each square is a QR code that links to as arts organization in the city.

below: “Keep it Street”

small street art piece high up on a building, keep it street

below: Your name like ice into my heart

below: A large mural by Colello Creations, aka Jacqueline Colello

part of a colello creations mural in syracuse

below: Another large mural, this one is on the side of a NatWest bank building and features images of Syracuse landmarks from a time when the Erie Canal played a large role in the city. It was painted by Corky Goss and Chip Miller in 2010.

horse drawn carriage passing in front of the erie canal where a man is tying up a boat, two people in the carriage,

Photos taken August 2024

state sanctioned

Posted on November 3, 2024 by Mary C

In the city of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, modern white residential buildings line a wide road, Ataturk Street; many of the buildings have murals on the side. These aren’t street art paintings and they were probably part of the design of the building. Still, it is art and they do add some vibrancy to the neighbourhood.

murals, pictures, on the side of two residential apartment buildings made of white marble, in ashgabat turkmenistan

murals, pictures, on the side of residential apartment buildings made of white marble, in ashgabat turkmenistan

murals, pictures, on the side of residential apartment buildings made of white marble, in ashgabat turkmenistan, tree patterns

murals, pictures, on the side of residential apartment buildings made of white marble, in ashgabat turkmenistan, cherries and grapes on a plate

murals, pictures, on the side of residential apartment buildings made of white marble, in ashgabat turkmenistan, abstract patterns

murals, pictures, on the side of residential apartment buildings made of white marble, in ashgabat turkmenistan, based on traditionsl carpet patterns

murals, pictures, on the side of residential apartment buildings made of white marble, in ashgabat turkmenistan

Photos taken October 2024

Lynn posters

Posted on September 20, 2024 by Mary C

As I walked around Lynn I spotted a few posters on display, all of which dealt with the Covid pandemic that started back in 2020. You might be able to make an argument that these aren’t exactly street art but I think that their roots are firmly in the art community.

below: This is a copy of a much larger mural that first appeared in Amsterdam. “Super Nurse” is the creation of FAKE (aka Manuel Seikritt).

covid pandemic poster in Lynn Massachusetts, copy of super nurse, a large mural in amsterdam

below: On the left – Unsung Heroes by Randy Stolinas – a thankful shout out to all those in the service industries who were also essential workers. On the right, useful, and still relevant, advice from Ed Wainaina

two covid pandemic posters in Lynn Massachusetts, unsung heroes thank you to essential workers in the service industry as well as a reminder to wash your hands

below: A copy of Shepherd Fairey’s (aka Obey) “We the People; Protect Each Other”

covid pandemic poster in Lynn Massachusetts, by obey aka shepherd fairey, picture of young woman, in blues and reds with text, we the people protect each other

below: Manoel Enrique (aka Fizz) designed this poster to remind everyone to wash their hands.

Photos taken August 2024

Nostalgia

Posted on September 18, 2024 by Mary C

… is a mural on Main Street in Nashua that takes a look back at three of the highlights in the history of American movies – The Three Stooges, Cary Grant and Vivian Leigh in ‘Gone With the Wind’, as well as James Stewart and Donna Reed in ‘A Wonderful Life’. It was painted on the side of on the Chase Building on its 100th anniversary. Once upon a time this building was home to a movie theater with a few different names – the Tremont (1917-1927), State (1927-1973), and Star (1973-1980) Theaters.

Phelany23 painted the mural, with the support of Positive Street Art.

below: A Wonderful Life, Christmas 1946 with James Stewart and Donna Reed

below: Gone with the Wind – Cary Grant and Vivian Leigh

below: The Three Stooges in The Blob – Larry, Moe, and Curly

Jules and Marius

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Mary C

Along the wall of one building in Montreal, in a lane of Jeanne-Mance (near rue St. Zotique) is a small series of older paintings…

below: Naimo, before 2017 – more than a ‘throw up” or “throwie”, and closer to a “wildstyle” piece of graffiti.

wildstyle graffiti by naimo, or perhaps an abstract mural with shapes and circles

below: Jules & Marius – is this a signature? Or is the piece dedicated to them?

throw up graffiti, with text jules and marius written beside it

below: So hot it’s on fire…..

wildstyle graffiti with flames coming out of some of the letters, letters are pink and purple, on yellow background

below: Lunch time

painting, street art, on side of building, black line drawing of a man with food and drink, a sandwich or burger in one hand and a bottled drink with a straw in the other

Photos taken September 2024

Nashua Heritage Rail Trail

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Mary C

Similar to other cities in the United States, Nashua New Hampshire has made a bicycle/pedestrian path out of land once used by the railway. The trail itself is short, only just over a mile starting at City Hall and running parallel to Hollis Street although there may be plans to extend it. Once it was part of the Great Northern Railway that ran from Boston to Lake Erie.

Some of the buildings along the trail have been painted with murals.

street art mural on trail in Nashua New Hampshire,

The Nashua Dodgers were a Brooklyn Dodgers farm team that played out of Holman Stadium in Nashua from 1946 to 1949 (four seasons). Two African American players, catcher Roy Campanella and pitcher Don Newcombe, were on the team in those years – this was shortly after the signing of Jackie Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945, and the beginning of the integration of major league baseball.

below: Horse drawn public transit on the streets of Nashua, the Manchester Horse Railroad, “Main Street 1908”

street art mural on trail in Nashua New Hampshire,Horse drawn public transit the Manchester Horse Railroad, scene from 1908

below: Fuzzy in pink and red with wisps of green.

One of the projects of the Positive Street Art organization is the maintenance of two Legal Graffiti Walls. They happen to be on this rail path and this is what was on one of them when I passed by in mid August 2024…. It is a tribute to Joey Tombs by Jay Mac (aka The Backstah) on the 10th anniversary of Tombs’s passing.

And last, there is one more train themed mural. A caboose and an engine with three railroad cars in between. These cars contain scenes painted by local artists. The mural was created as part of the 2005 Mayor’s Task Force on Youth along with the support of local businesses. It covers the entire block between Walnut Street and Chestnut Street.

below: “Native Americans admired and named the Nashua River – the beautiful river with pebbled bottom.”

Photos taken August 2024

Lowell’s murals

Posted on September 8, 2024 by Mary C

Like many cities in Massachusetts, the organization Beyond Walls has been responsible for bringing great artists into the city to paint interesting murals that liven up public spaces and bring some colour to different neighbourhoods.

below: A David Zayas mural, “Otro Rumbo” covers the side of a building at Athenian Corner on Market Street. It contains many traditional Puerto Rican symbols and objects, including a rooster that symbolizes strength. For this mural, Project LEARN (Lowell Educational Alliance Resource Network) was also involved.

large mural by David Zayas, girl in skirt and bare feet walks over a row of chairs, from seat to seat

below: Evaristo Angurria (or Nestor Garcia painted this mural at the site of Mechanics Hall. I am not sure why, but he seems to like painting women with curlers in their hair.

below: Three pottery jugs representing “healing”, i.e whole – broken – fixed, a mural by Bryan Beyung that covers the side of the Elliot Church in the Back Central neighbourhood.

large mural by Bryan Beyung on the side of an old brick church, Elliot church, in Lowell Massachusetts. Shows three large pottery jugs, the first is whole, the middle is broken, and the last is repaired.

below: Celebrating the Irish heritage in the area and how they helped build Lowell. They were one of the first immigrants to arrive starting in the 1830s. They found labor working at the many mills in and around Lowell.

Large mural in Lowell, on the side of old factory building, historic iage of old factory with people going to work, also two large churches in the mural, Irish heritage of the area,

below: “Rayo Feliz” by Golden 305 at the Middlesex Community College’s Facilities building. (More of his work in Holyoke).

below: Also on the Lowell campus of Middlesex Community College, this time at the Cowan Center, is another mural called “Dream, Hunt, Make.” It was was painted by FONKi, a Cambodian street artist born in France but now living in Montreal.

A quote by FONKi (source: his Instagram page)

“DREAM, HUNT, MAKE
Within the eyes of the Dreamer, lies the keys of the future,
Sweetness and bitterness you will taste,
Focus in the Present, you must,
Educate yourself, you will.
.
Obsessively, his dream, the Hunter chases,
Darkness and light you will meet,
Wise with knowledge, you must be,
Continue flying, you will.
.
Under The Maker’s hands, life takes color.
Creation is complex,
An Art it is, to make it simple,
To build, pure must be your intentions.
.
A Sweet Dreamer, Wise Hunter & Pure Maker you shall become.”

Photos taken August 2024

Mason Square

Posted on September 6, 2024 by Mary C

Springfield MA is home to many murals. This blog post looks at some of them that were seen in the Mason Square neighborhood of that city.

A celebration of Black music that was originally painted in 1974 by Nelson Stevens. Stevens painted many murals in the Springfield area during his lifetime. He died last year at the age of 86. This mural was rededicated earlier in 2022.

below: Martin Luther King in “The Beloved Community” by Nero and Souls.

below: Say Their Names – A tribute mural to the more than 60 black and brown people killed in the USA in the year up to 1 June 2020 by the police – a project that was came about in response to the murder of George Floyd. Also included are the names of Springfield MA residents who have been killed in interactions with the police. This project was organized by Common Wealth Murals and Art for the Soul Gallery, and hosted by the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services of Springfield. The mural was designed and painted by artist Wane One from New York City, with assistance from two other artists, Nero and Souls.

below: A healing mural – “You heal the soil, You heal yourself, You heal our neighborhood”. Another Community Mural Institute mural. The actual title is “Gardening the Community” and was painted by Ryan Murray, 2021.

below: RIP “Preacher Man”, Randolph Lester (1940-2017) The mural was designed by GoodSpace Murals for the Community Mural Institute. Three Springfield artists were involved: Frankie Borrero, Emma Mesa-Melendez, and Martin Johnson

below: On the walls of Rebecca M. Johnson School there is a series of paintings featuring Ruth E. Carter, costume designer, author and Springfield native. The images also show some of the many costumes she designed for films including Black Panther, Coming to America, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, and Selma.

below: “Tribute to Black Women”, painted in 1974 by Nelson Stevens and repainted in 2022 by the Community Mural Institute.

I am a black woman, tall as a cypress, strong beyond all definition, defying time and circumstance, assailed, impervious, indestructable. Look on me and be renewed.

below: Wall of Fame

Photos taken July 2024

behind a building on Union Street

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Mary C

This is the back of 270 and 280 Union Street in Lynn MA as seen from the (large) parking lot. All of these murals were painted as part of the Beyond Walls program.

A closer look at the four of them…..

below: Two large murals, male and female, by Erin Holly

below: A large, vibrant mural titled “KLK Mi Gente” painted by a group of artists: Angurria (aka Nestor Garcia), Dovente (aka Johann M. Baez) Silvia López Chavez, and Willgom (aka Willy Gomez). The artists are either from the Dominican Republic or have Dominican roots.

“KLK” is an acronym for “Que lo que!,” which loosely translates to the English, in meaning and usage, as “What’s up?” The mural is a celebration of Dominican culture.

below: Hanimal, an artist from Colombia, two little guys like two peas in a pod , meticulously detailed,

mural in green tones, on a red brick wall, lots of detail, two little people with eyes closed together in a pea pod, pea plant, painted by hanimal

below: Portuguese artist, Diogo Machado aka Add Fuel painted the top corner of the building. His ‘layers’ wrap around the corner, each layer revealing a different tile pattern.

mural by add fuel, high up on two sides of a corner of a brick building, designs in blue and white as well as brown and white, painted to look like layers of wallpaper being removed to reveal the layer below,

Photos taken July 2024

Eyes on the Streets

and feets on the ground. Graffiti, street art and murals seen while wandering the streets and alleys of our colourful world.

Author Archives: Mary C

animals on the walls of Montreal

downtown Syracuse

state sanctioned

Lynn posters

Nostalgia

Jules and Marius

Nashua Heritage Rail Trail

Lowell’s murals

Mason Square

behind a building on Union Street