Funky Fish and fisheries

Posted on August 26, 2025 by Mary C

There is an aquatic (and fisheries) themed mural that can be seen from the Pinellas Loop Trail in St. Petersburg. It was painted by PlasticBirdie (Jeremy Nichols) and BlaineFontana during the SHINE Mural Festival in 2019 in partnership with PangeaSeed Foundation’s Sea Walls. Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). It is over 120 feet long and took eight days to paint. It’s title is “The 8th Funky Fish Town”.

mural, by Jeremy Nichols and Blaine Fontana, about fish especially groupers, and fisheries of Florida, in St. Petersburg, title is The eighth funky fish town

below: Each of the 7 pegs describes one of Florida’s local fisheries. Number 1 is Madeira Beach and number 2 is Panama City …. followed by 3. Cortez, 4. Apalachicola (for oysters), 5.Steinhatchee (for scallops) 6. Matlacha and 7. Key West

details about the 7 fisheries in Florida including Panama City, Madeira Beach, and Key West , in a street art mural

below: A coral reef with a dark red grouper fish poking its head out. A gray manta ray is also pictured.

part of a street art mural, a gray manta ray, a coral reef, and two grouper fish

below: And last, a giant green eel with many arrows.

Photos taken March 2024

St Petes – more from Warehouse Arts District

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Mary C

below: Bright and cheerful, colours and smiley shapes, a work by Filipino-American artist JUJMO (aka Cheryl Weber)

below: “Are You My Mother?” by Carrie Jadus, painted in 2017 on the back of the Arts Xchange Building and seen from the Pinellas Trail. It was painted in coordination with the grand opening (“birth”) of the Arts Xchange.

a realistic looking one hundred dollar bill in American currency but with central picture being a fetus in the womb, all curled up, fetal position. Painted by Carrie Jadus and titled Are you my mother?

below: Two sides of a sidewalk box – from the SHINE 2019 corner canvas project, painted by Jenipher Chandley.

below (and above): An American flag with its red, white, and blue merges with a Cuban flag, also in red, white, and blue in a mural by Michel Mirabal. It is actually on 22nd Avenue, but backs onto the Pinellas Trail.

mural, two flags, american on the left and cuban on the right, that merge in the middle

below: For the 2021 SHINE Festival, Nicole Salgar’s “The Commuter”

mural by nicole salgar, woman's portrait, flowers, in reds and purples — From Salgar’s Instagram page: “In this piece, the muse is intended to be portrayed as a gatekeeper to other dimensions and realities. She is connecting with the viewer through her gaze, and behind her you can peer into her intimate space, which appears to be in the process of transformation. Her existence is one which flows throughout time without any boundaries. Time is represented in this piece through the changing shapes and fields of color. The structure to the far right, which is interacting with her physical form, is a portal that symbolizes the doorway into another dimension, or a parallel universe. This is a representation of the pathways we follow through transitions and transformations throughout our lives. Theories say that versions of our universe overlap, and even interact with one another on the quantum level, affecting our own universe. This piece is a loop which speaks to the idea of no beginnings or endings, just absolute continuity. The very concept of time is ultimately an illusion, created by humans to reconcile with our memories. Ultimately, this mural is a culmination of the feminine spirit of all things being tied together through reality, nature, dreams, space and time. A boundless energy which makes up the entire universe. “

This post is the third of three that feature street art in the Warehouse Arts District. The other two are: 1. At 24th Street and 5th Avenue South and
2. Pink Men on 5th

Photos taken March 2024

at 24th Street and 5th Avenue South

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Mary C

St. Petersburg, Florida

below: Pandas galore in “Laughing Giants” by Aaron (Woes) Martin, 2021

two white trucks parked in front of a mural with heads of many pandas, by Woes Martin,

close up of pandas heads in mural with title laughing giants

below: “We are all magic” with green eyes, unicorns, and a butterfly. Mural by Sarah G. Sheppard. This mural is actually on the same building as the mural that I showed in the last blog post here, Pink Men on 5th.

mural by sarah sheppard, eyes, butterfly, text that says we are all magic

close up of mural by sarah sheppard, eyes, butterfly, text that says we are all magic

below: “Temple of Eternal Bliss”, 2019, by Palehorse (aka Christopher Parks)

mural by palehorse, lines, two dragons, doorway, temple shape

front of a low building covered with portraits and street art paintings of girls and women

mural with a large white question mark in a circle, surrounded by hundreds of smaller question marks

Photos taken March 2024

Nearby are other murals in the Warehouse Arts District. They can be seen in two other blog posts: 1. Pink Men on 5th and 2. St. Pete’s – more from the Warehouse District.

Pink Men on 5th

Posted on March 31, 2024 by Mary C

On 5th Ave South there is a large mural painted by Colombian artist GLEO for SHINE 2021 as a tribute to two men who were important to her. SHINE is the annual St. Petersburg Mural Festival. Unfortunately part of it is now hidden behind a large white container.

at the end of a parking lot in st petersburg, one black vehicle, one large white container, a mural with men's faces by gleo

Left side

part of a mural, a man balancing a large pink flower by the bottom of its stem, a large man's face

Middle

a large hand over a man's face, part of a large mural by gleo

part of a mural in st petersburg painted during shine festival in 2021

Right side

Photos taken March 2024

downtown Clearwater

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Mary C

The previous blog post was about a large mural in Clearwater that was on the Pinellas (bike and walking) Trail as it passed the downtown area, “See yah later Alligator”. Slightly to the north of that alligator, but still on the trail, is this mural….

mural by illsol, large, blue background, bicycles, oranges, locomotive, about history, orange belt railway, now on the pinellas trail in clearwater

It was painted by Illsol, a husband and wife team of Michelle Sawyer and Tony Krol and is titled, “One hundred years before J. Cole”. In 1885 the Orange Belt Railway, a narrow-gauge railway, was opened. This was also the year that the bicycle (with the same design as modern bikes) went into production. Today, the Pinellas Trail runs along the route of the Orange Belt Railway. The reference to J. Cole is because of a song of his called ‘1985’ about change and history.

part of a large blue mural, painted by illsol, steam locomotive from the orange belt railway, some oranges, and some bikes

bike, in a mural by illsol, clearwater, palm tree trunk in front of it, muralsofclearwater,

below: “Ikebana”, a flower arrangement. The word ikebana is Japanese and it refers to a style of flower arranging. It was painted by DAAS.

mural with many colorful flowers in ikebana, japanese flower arrangement, painted by D A A S

large white flower in a mural by d a a s

below: “Elysian Days” by Cecilia Lueza, rainforest inspired colours and shapes.

swirls of colours, a mural by lueza, shades of greens that look like leaves, some pinks and oranges too

below: History at the corner of Garden and Cleveland.

right hand side of a mural showing part of clearwater in the past, old truck with sign on side that says Jewelers Baskets Salon,

part of mural showing history of clearwater, Garden Avenue, old cars, brick streets, some pedestrians, a row of stores, inclusing a restaurant

below: “Communidad” by Theic Camilo Nunez and Florencia Duran.

mural, larger than life size people, title is communidad, people are reaching out and touching their neighbours

below: “Avenue du Jardin” is quite faded (I’ve played with the colours and enhanced them a bit). The plaque on the wall says, “This mural is dedicated to the citizens of Clearwater in celebration of our history and our future.” It was originally painted in 2002 and then restored not too long ago by Ana Livingston.

below: United We Stand, signed by four artists: Maria Chang, Jennifer Vallieres, Miriam Vallieres, and Laurie Anopach,

patriotic mural, american flag, words united we stand, kids, firemen, police, medical people, community

below: A bit of colour on the sidewalk brought to you by the Clearwater Arts Alliance.

below: With drips and bubbles and great shades of blue, a tree by Candy Schultheis

See yah later alligator

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Mary C

On the Pinellas Trail as it passes through downtown Clearwater is a very large alligator with a gold crown and a very spikey collar.

large alligator in a mural, greenish blue colour, with gold crown, large spikey collar around its neck

The alligator is not alone. Holding onto the leash is a young woman who is also carrying a long stick. Perhaps they are about to walk away? “See yah later” as they go….

The mural was painted by Joshua the Lawyer and MJ Lindo.

low white building beside street, with mural along the wall, railway tracks, bike trail,

See you in a while, crocodile!

Photos taken March 2024

on a Central corner

Posted on January 8, 2024 by Mary C

Central Ave (and the streets running parallel to it) in downtown St. Petersburg Florida has become home to numerous murals thanks to the SHINE Mural Festival held every October. 2024 will be its 10th year.

two murals on two sides of the same building, meet in the middle, part of shine festival st. petersburg murals

First, two kids in a boat on triangular sea, by Zulu (or Zulu Painter). The girl is at the helm with her paddle. Both are watching intently, eyes ahead. What do they see?

mural all in blue tones, two kids, a girl and a boy, together in a row boat out on the water, water made with triangles, by zulu painter,

And second, there is a long horizontal mural by Daniel R. Barojas with a pattern of hexagons for a background. A woman is on one side. She seems focused on something.

… peeking out in the middle (caught in the middle?, or just curious?)

part of a mural by Daniel R. Barojas, a person with bright blue eyes seems to be peeking out from under the ground i.e. eyes at very bottom of mural

… and a man with feathers in his ear at the other end

Photos taken April 2022

painted on the parking structures

Posted on January 7, 2024 by Mary C

Parking garages, especially large structures, can usually be described as boring and ugly, i.e. they aren’t great to look at. Downtown Tampa has a large parking structure that was decorated with street art murals back in 2015.

below: William F. Poe Parking Garage on North Ashley Drive is now home to “Stay Curious” a series of murals by artists Tes One (aka Leon Bedore) and Bask (aka Ales Hostomsky), with contributions by the Vitale Brothers.

below: The text says “Stay Curious”

below: Nearby is a Marriott Hotel (at the corner of North Franklin and East Tyler) and this is what they did to their parking garage.

mural, abstract in shades of blue on the marriott hotel in tampa

below: Another corner of another garage

below: It’s not a mural or a painting but it’s a colorful and fascinating way of covering the exterior of a parking structure. This is DOTS, by sculptor and artist Christian Moeller and it consists of 119 aluminum alloy discs. Each disc is almost 6 feet across and weighs about 40 pounds. They cover the parking part of a new University of Tampa residence building.

large metal discs, as art, cover the exterior of a parking garage, 119 discs, called dots, by artist Christian Moeller

After a quick google search on parking garage art, I have decided that this has become a “thing”. Very trendy by the looks of it.

Photos taken April 2022

Love’s the only engine of survival

Posted on January 6, 2024 by Mary C

Or at least that’s what written on a wall in Tampa Florida that was painted by a number of artists during Tampa Bay Fresh Fest in early 2020. It’s a Leonard Cohen quote.

words painted on a wall in the corner of a green mural that says love's the only engine of survival

mural, green background with water drops, black silhouette of a frog and a gecko climbing the wall

below: Greetings! Peace. A very friendly doorman, by Luisa Padró

mural around a double door, glass, of a large man bending over the top of the door, he is giving peace symbol with two fingers

below: The wall is on Franklin Street.

wall decorated with five murals by street artists on Franklin St in Tampa

below: A snake and a mama kangaroo with a joey in her pocket, the merging of two disparate animal species, by Jerry Cahill

below: She’s got quite the hairdo. Are the pirates coming for her? Or is she just on the side observing the boatload of skull-like figures? This was a collaboration between Artcapco (aka Juan Pablo & Vanessa Parra and Ashley Cantero

mural of a woman with pink hair, up do, with a pirate ship in the background where the pirates are skulls

below: A bear, an arrow, some squares and rectangles, a mixed composition by noirsone

a mural with a brown bear, a white arrow that looks like a cursor on a computer screen

Photos taken April 2022

The Leonard Cohen quote comes from the lyrics of a song, “The Future”. There are many words in the song and you can find them online if you are interested. It’s a rather dark song. This is the stanza that the quote comes from:

“You don’t know me from the wind
You never will, you never did
I’m the little Jew
Who wrote the Bible
I’ve seen the nations rise and fall
I’ve heard their stories, heard them all
But love’s the only engine
Of survival”

downtown heroes and a chicken too

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Mary C

Seen in Tampa

below: A mural by Audrey Jennifer and Matt Kress

downtown Tampa street with mural by Matt Kress and Audrey Jennifer of Ray Charles in a purple bowtie and quarterback Tom Brady in his Buccaneers uniform, number 12

below: This mural was painted in time for Super Bowl LV which was held in Tampa, and featured a Tampa team in the game. Sport and music combined with a star from each – Ray Charles on the left.

below: And on the right, Number 12 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, quarterback Tom Brady.

below: He even wore a mask for Covid! This portrait of Tom Brady was painted by Kyle Holbrook.

below: Tampa Bay also has a hockey team!, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Number 45 for the Buccaneers is linebacker Devin White. This “Champa Bay” mural was a collaboration between Kyle Holbrook and Ania Amador.

mural with Tampa Bay shoreline, water, as well as a football player and a hockey player

below: “All for Love!” says the rooster (chicken?) on the side of Branscomb Hall at The Portico (part of Hyde Park United Methodist Church) although the title of the mural is actually “For the Love of THIS City”. It was painted by Michelle Sawyer and Tony Krol who work together under the name Illsol.

“For the Love of THIS City”. It was painted by Michelle Sawyer and Tony Krol who work as Illsol. A chicken, two alligators, a heron, some local flowers, and some other Tampa symbols,

below: It features local wildlife living in harmony… like alligators and herons and … chickens? Apparently Ybor City chickens are famous?! This one looks a little grouchy.

close up of chicken and alligator and heron and other wildlife in Illsol mural at The Portico, Hyde Park Methodist church

Photos taken April 2022

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.

Category Archives: Florida

Funky Fish and fisheries

St Petes – more from Warehouse Arts District

at 24th Street and 5th Avenue South

Pink Men on 5th

downtown Clearwater

See yah later alligator

on a Central corner

painted on the parking structures

Love’s the only engine of survival

downtown heroes and a chicken too