Funky Fish and fisheries

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.

part of a street art mural, the head of a large green eel coming out of coral reef, many arrows in different colours, pointing to the right

Photos taken March 2024

St Petes – more from Warehouse Arts District

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.

two sides of a box on a sidewalk, both painted with a picture, on one side is a woman and on the other is an insect

part of a mural, star from cuban flag

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

banners on light poles along a trail, for warehouse arts district

Photos taken March 2024

at 24th Street and 5th Avenue South

St. Petersburg, Florida

a stop sign is covered with graffiti stickers and slaps.  Also, 2 green and white St. Petersburg street signs, one for 24th Street and one for 5th Avenue South

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

blog_females_girls_women

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

part of a mural, a gold coloured unicorn with one horn in middle of head

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

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

right side of mural by gleo, another man's face in shades of pink large ear in foreground of photo

Photos taken March 2024

on a Central corner

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.

part of a mural by Daniel R. Barojas, a woman in profile, long hair, eyes closed

… 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

part of a mural by Daniel R. Barojas, a man in profile with feather earring,

Photos taken April 2022

behind Central Ave

St. Petersburg is home to a growing number of murals. There are maps online that help you find the murals but if you walk along Central Avenue and explore the streets and alleys close by, you will encounter most of them.

below: There’s a short alley behind the north side of Central Ave that is home to quite a few street art pieces. This is the view westward from 6th St. North (toward 7th St N)

street art and murals painted on walls and buildings in an alley

below: This is the mural at the east end of the alley.  This portrait among the fishes and mermaids was painted by Derek Donnelly

mural of a man with black rimmed glasses painting on the wall, marine scene part of a mural, a mermaid with long pink hair and a pink fin part of a mural with fish

below: Colourful mural by kosharekart

a mural by kosharekart

below: Some paper pasteups that have seen better days paper pasteups, partially peeling

paper paste ups on a wall in a lane

below: Circle patterns in a mural by Megan Kelly

below: Frida Kahlo

a small mural on the side of a garage, portrait of Frida Kahlocar parked in front of a mural

below: Another painting by kosharekart

female figures with very decorated clothing, painted in a mural close up of a mural showing a woman in a sail boat, with a large bird and its beak beside

below: Another Derek Donnelly fish.  The lower portions were once a brighter orange but it`s faded over time (painted in 2014).

a car is parked in front of a mural of a very large fish painted by Derek Donnelly mural in an alley by kosharekart

below: Boat on the water

mural in a lane, a woman stands beside a boat on very wavy water

below: Hearts, a bird, and a snail

mural in an alley of a female figure dressed in a red heart covered dress.  There is a large snail on her lap

below: Someone seems to disapprove of Mr. Cactus.

a small sticker of a cactus with a face, stuck on a mural beside a face

below: `Twiggy`by Brad Mize is at the rear of 648 Central Ave.

very large face on white background, mural in an alley

pale purple background, cursive writing of the words life is magical “Life is Magical When You Look” with a black cat sitting on the moon nose to nose with a dragonfly in a mural by Christy Faris

mural of a black cat sitting on the curve of a new moon, also a dragonfly by the cat

below: Brad Mizes ‘Mr. Sunshine’ is now partially behind a fence.  The sun is a copy of a 1940s design used to promote the city of St. Petersburg.

bright yellow sun on sky blue background, mural, sunshine mural

below: Fish in a birdcage

small sticker on a post, white background, black drawing of a fish in a birdcage
mural around a door that makes it look like it's in India, some white lotus flowers painted beside the door

below: Adios! Let it go

black mural with hands and the word adios in cursive

below: Treat yo self, woof woof, by aurailieus

mural of a black pug dog on blue background

below: Mural for Caskey, a musician, or more specifically, for his song “Thank God I Made it” which was released about the same time that the mural was painted (May 2021).  Artist: skycaptain

skycaptain mural ode to musician caskey

below: Shark mural by Shark Toof, a 2015 SHINE mural, on the east wall of the State Theater building.; It too is a little bit faded.

mural of a grey shark on an orange red wall a car parked in front of a mural that is the same orangish red that the background of the mural is, a large shark with mouth open and many teeth

below: This the Hindu Goddess, Saraswati, who symbolizing knowledge, learning and wisdom was well as, music, art, and speech. She was painted by Palehorse Design. Follow the link to learn more about the mural.

large 50 foot by 30 foot mural by Palehorse Design of the Hindu goddess saraswati playing a musical instrument called a veena.  She has four arms to represent the four elements of inner life, mind, intellect, ego, and consciousness.

below: “Space Rainbows” by Ricky Watts

view from behind trees in a parking lot, large mural called Space Rainbows covers the side of a building Space Rainbows mural from the side Many of these murals are the product of SHINE Mural Festivals. Follow the link for more information about these festivals. All photos were taken in mid-April, 2022

Time to Think

large mural by parking lot in St. Petersburg, called Time to think, painted by Derek Donnelly and Sebastian Coolidge, a man in a shirt and green tie, upper body only, is opening his middle to release a jellyfish like structure

This large mural, titled “Time to Think”, was painted (2014) in the Central Arts District of St. Petersburg by Derek Donnelly and Sebastian Coolidge. It represents the idea that corporations and businesses should embrace creativity in their communities. Big business (the man in the green tie) opens himself up to new, and more creative, ideas and projects.

part of a mural, man's hands have created a circular opening in his middle to release a jellyfish with a pink brain

part of a mural, time to think, by Derek Donnelly and Sebastian Coolidge

a pink brain inside a translucent jellyfish head, part of a mural

at 1st Street North & MLK

below: The northwest corner of Martin Luther King Blvd and 1st St North in St. Petersburg Florida where there are a few murals on the buildings. The mural of the cat and dog in the foreground was painted by Matt Kress.

northwest corner of 1st Street North and Martin Luther King Blvd showing some one storey buildings with murals on the sides

below: On the other side of the building (an animal hospital) are more cats and dogs.

part of a mural, a cat face that is partially obscured by a white fence

part of a mural, two dogs

part of a mural, a cat's head, mouth open, tooth showing

In the first photo, you can see small parts of another mural. This one features well known cartoon characters such as the cats Felix and Garfield, as well as Disney’s Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, and Goofy. It was painted by Greg Mike as part of the SHINE mural festival in 2021.

below: The whole mural

mural by Greg Mike featuring lots of well known cartoon characters

mural by Greg Mike featuring lots of well known cartoon characters including Felix the cat and Donald Duck

part of a mural by Greg Mike

Garfield the Cat in a mural by Greg Mike

Disney's character Goofy in a mural by Greg Mike

mural by Greg Mike

below: The last mural here, on the far side of the back building, is another recent painting. Also part of the SHINE 2021 festival is “Tell Me How You Feel, Part III” by Bakpak Durden.

mural by Bakpak Durden a large jaw from a skull with white teeth, a hand is reaching out to touch it

at the roundabout

below: In the middle of the roundabout is a sculpture called “The Sun on the EDGE” by Ilan Averbuch. The title is a play on the word edge as the roundabout is located in the EDGE District of downtown St. Petersburg.

in the foreground, words in chalk on the sidewalk about love, then a roundabout with a circle of grass in the middle.  there is a large sculpture in the roundabout.  a large circle of sun rays, by Ilan Averbuch

blog_roundabout_sun_trolley

below: Mural by Chad Mize

mural on the side of a building, a man on the right side with a mug in his hand, rest of mural is geometric shapes in reds, blues, and yellow

below: Tow Away Zone

sign saying tow away zone in front of a mural in red, blue, and yellow

below: Stickers on the back of a sign along with a page of notes

stickers on the back of a street sign

below: Raphael emerges from the sewer where the Mutant Ninja Turtles hang out

manhole cover on the sidewalk, chalk drawing of head and shoulders of teenage mutant ninja turtle with a red mask, Raphael

below: All you need is love, and some chalk

drawing in chalk on the sidewalk, a little yellow submarine and words from Beatles song, all you need is love