There are two large murals near the intersection of East Fremont and North 6th in Las Vegas. In the foreground is this pair of teal hands. This is one of two murals that Brazilian duo Bicicleta Sem Freio (aka Douglas de Castro and Renato Pereira) painted in Vegas during the ‘Life is Beautiful’ event of 2017.
below: Closer view of the hands with their black finger nails and oval rings.
“below: Behind, Linus has a complaint writ large in a mural by Mark Drew. The text is a quote from C.R.E.A.M., a song by Wu Tang Gang. “Life as a shorty shouldn’t be so rough But as the world turned, I learned life is hell Livin’ in the world no different from a cell.”
below: Another blue faced trumpet player, but a little paler. There is a strong resemblance between the hands in this mural and those in the top mural.
This downtown Vegas mural was painted by Belgian artist known as ROA in 2014.
It is a type of lizard known as a Horned Toad (or Horntoad, Horn Lizard). If you want to get scientific, they are of the genus Phrynosoma. These reptiles are native to western North America where they prefer desert or sandy semi-desert areas. The mural is painted in bluish grey tones but these lizards are actually brown so they are well camouflaged in sand and dirt.
If there is a predator nearby, the lizard puffs itself up to look bigger and harder to swallow. At least five species of horned toads can also squirt a stream of blood at the predator. The blood comes from tiny blood vessels near their eyes. Apparently it doesn’t taste very good and some predators have second thoughts about eating the lizard.
below: A young girl surrounded by tulips and feathers painted at Rutland Road by Danielle Mastrion to honor the annual West Indian Day parade.
below: Community mural of palm trees and flowers by the lake. Brooklyn Peace Constellation was the work of a long list of artists and contributors.
A group of Fumero portraits beside Errol’s Caribbean Bakery on Hawthorne.
At Flatbush and Fenimore is this white on black mural by Katie Merz. In it you can find hundreds of little shapes, symbols, words and images such as a guitar, cats, dogs, and even a loaf of bread,
Freeman Alleyis a private lane that runs parallel to the Bowery close to Sara Roosevelt Park and Bowery subway station. It has become a destination for graffiti both for those who make it and for those who want to look at it. Stencils, wheatpaste, and stickers are the most common and there is lots of it! There is probably more than one blog post’s worth so this is just the start.
below: No loitering in the alley. About to munched on – this one-eyed pink and purple banana by eye.sticker is i danger of losing part of its peel.
below: “Do you see this?” Eyes and hearts but with a tear or two.
below: Mickey Mouse crucified, and a feline love more, #nohatefamily. Something about hello mushroom in there as well.
below: “Black Lives Matter is a movement, not a moment, by Individual Activist,
below: Many faces here including a lightning struck David Bowie. In the center is an anti-war poster by Brad Heckman (aka hecksign) that features a portrait of Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.
below: Another Individual Activist anti-war poster. Ukraine is not Putin’s blank canvas. On the left is a big colourful beetle by modomatic.
below: Another modomatic, this time a multicoloured mask. Sticking out on the right is a yellow arm with a pink donut and half smoked joint while a Half Brooklyn Crooklyn’s figure is running away (the last is by TheOhioGirl).
below: Another modomatic creation – insect like? Botanical?
below: “So much love” on newspaper by jkosart along with a back and white intricate drawing of a creature of some kind (signed moose)
below: A picture of a painter painting a picture, by font147
below: Two women – one on the Sony screen along with one as a BLM tribute by Voxx Romana
below: Mother and Child on blue
below: A yellow duck below an old faded poem. Once there was a bouquet of red roses but it looks like someone showed their displeasure with pink paint.
below: At the very top, a multiple-eyed face by sold out art show. The woman with the black and white flower hair has her own post on this blog – see Unleashing Flowers.
below: A period piece, black and white in sepia, from 33wallflower33,
below: Oversalted broccoli and a boxer
In case you are interested in such things, there is a gallery/shop in the alley that features the work of many of these artists.
The newest mural visible as you walk the High Line Park is “The Baayfalls” by Jordan Casteel.
“I am not interested in competing with anyone. I hope we all make it.” The mural is a portrait of Fallou, a woman who sells hats in Harlem and her brother Baay Demba Sow who was visiting from Senegal. He is member of Baye Fall movement, a West African Sufi order that is part of the Mouride brotherhood.
Greetings from Coney Island! A postcard type mural by Megan Watters.
Here street art has been incorporated into the amusement park. Each year since 2015 , Coney Art Walls has added to their collection of murals and now has more than 60. Go when the park is open!
below: More of the Art Walls. The largest one in the photo is by Nina Chanel Abney. The one closest to the camera is ‘Handsome Brother and the Mermaid’ by Aiko which is based on an old Japanese tale called “Taro Urashima and Dragon Palace”.
below: Behind a chainlink fence, another Coney Island mural.
below: And yet another Coney Island mural, this one with old black and white photographs of New York City views inside the letters. The Statue of Liberty makes a great exclamation mark.
below: Although it is disappearing behind the ivy, this is yet another Coney Island mural.
below: Clown face and more faces. Live and let live – street artists against hate in the bottom right. And that blue guy? Have you seen how many teeth he has?!
below: Smell the flowers before they die and by the looks of it you don’t have long….
below: A jumble of strings and wires and a few found objects all wound up and made into a slightly human-like shape. Man is a mess?
below: The 5th, and last one here, Coney Island mural is the newest and the biggest. This is “Coney Is For Everyone” on Stilwell Avenue, painted by Danielle Mastrion. It was an Alliance for Coney Island project.
below: A blue Subway Doodle monster sleeps in front of Nathans on the boardwalk.
below: Another result of the Alliance for Coney Island efforts is this multicolour mural on the shutters that was painted by Ledania.
below: Lock him up! Donald Trump behind bars. Doesn’t he look cute in black and white stripes?
Small collages of images or photographs along with printed messages on Priority Mail stickers from the US Postal Service are the work of Sticker Maul and they can be seen around Manhattan. Most of the ones shown here were found on the Lower East Side near The Bowery or Freeman Alley.
below: Their message is usually positive and uplifting such as this ‘Stay Hopeful’. Is the word Go from a previous sticker that has been covered?
below: Flowers are pretty and so are you. They look so much like packages of seeds; let’s spread some seeds of hope and acceptance.
below: Playful and fun. We all need a smile in our lives and yes, we need friends too.
below: An exception here – instead of a sticker, a small miniature plastic pail finds a home in a small niche in a wall.
Back in 1996 the first Pokemon game was developed for the Nintendo GameBoy. Since then, the franchise has exploded in popularity and has included movies, television series, cards, and merchandise galore. If you “Gotta catch ’em all” then you’ll have to catch 923 species of fictional pokemon characters.
Obviously, only some of these species are shown in this mural including the bird-like characters in the picture below – Zapdos (the yellow spiky bird in middle) and Moltres on the left; the blue winged creature on the right is Articuno .
below: Gengar is the angry looking purple fellow guarding the door. MewToo keeps an eye on him from the other side of the door.
below: Here we see a sleeping snorlax living up to its name.
And of course there is cute little yellow Picachu
Five artists created this mural – Downer Jones, the duo of Menace Two and Resa Piece (aka menaceresa), Mch (aka damthatmooch), as well as demondoes.
There are two large colourful murals on 10th Avenue that were painted by Eduardo Kobra. Both are visible from the High Line, Manhattan’s elevated park.
below: Mother Teresa and Gandhi as seen from the High Line
and then closer up, face to face, respectful, hopeful
below: A hint of a second mural – Andy Warhol can be spotted between two buildings.
below: Above the Empire Diner in West Chelsea is this mural inspired by the carvings on Mount Rushmore, a re-imagining of it if you will. Instead of four American presidents there are four famous artists – Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Eyes on the Streets 