below: Hertel Alley Gallery – the “gallery” encompasses three blocks of Hertel Alley (runs parallel to Hertel Ave between Traymore and Colvin). It is the scene of the Hertel Alley Street Art Festival, first started in 2019. At present there are more than 20 murals. I haven’t presented all of them here, instead I have featured the ones on this building. The others will follow in subsequent postings.
Along a stretch of wall in the Cobblestone District, next to the Buffalo River, in Buffalo NY, there is a series of large paintings …
below: by Detour303 aka Thomas Evans
below: Cyrielle Tremblay
below: Jason Brammer, a framed view of the ocean
below: Ellen Rutt, a collage of shapes, colours, and textures
These images are presented by Albright-Knox Gallery and they date from Covid times, 2020-21. From the words on the wall: “The commons are what belong to all of us. In the nineteenth century, this area, so close to the Erie and Hamburg Canals and the Buffalo River and Harbor, was the site of a jostling mix of brick layers and dock workers, deckhands and lock tenders, machinists and millwrights. Producers of all kinds walked down cobble streets alive with the energy and pleasure of other people’s company. The commons are the exciting site of diverse perspectives and unexpected communions, shared together.
below: A patchwork couple standing together, by Lauren Mckenzie-Pearce aka Lady Noel
below: Obsidian Bellis, human? floral?
below: Karle Norman
below: by Monet Alyssa Kifner
below: A jumble of houses and other buildings, by Miriam Singer
below: “Be happy” by James Moffitt
below: Colourful cyclists by Morgan Blair
below: Rough and tumbling pastel people by Bradd Young
The Albright Knox Gallery sponsored another set of artworks during Covid that still hand the wall in a downtown Buffalo lane. You can see them at “Locked Down but Still at Work”
Sixteen paintings lined up on a wall in a downtown Buffalo alley…. a series presented by the Albright Knox Gallery. It is titled “Works, from Home” and it represents the thoughts and feelings of sixteen artists on their experiences with lockdowns during the Covid pandemic of 2020. Presented here in no particular order (with the artist’s name underneath) –
below: It’s hard to read now, but the word is “Entertainment” that runs across the top of the mural.
below: Older Buffaloes in Buffalo, titled: “Buffalo Roam”
below: Semi-circular, “Shooting Stars”
below: It’s not a street art mural but it’s located on the same building as “Entertainment” and across the parking lot from “Buffalo Roam”. Buffalo is full of old ghost signs like this. Albert’s Interior Decorators and Willett & Draper Furriers are both long gone. “Storage vaults on premises” – a throwback to when fur coats were popular. Fox & Staniland Opticians apparently still exist, but at a different address.
Joe’s Deli is on the corner of Hertel and Colvin in Buffalo (north of downtown). Two sides of the building are covered with large colourful murals.
below: On the Colvin Street side the mural consists of a lot of stylized flowers mostly in blues and purples.
below: The other side of the building has a second mural. It too has a turquoise background and some of the same floral motifs as the first mural. Both murals were painted by Bunnie Reiss.
below: The old blue sign on the building says Mastmans Kosher Restaurant. Mastmans deli and restaurant closed in 2005 after 60 years in the business.
Fairgrounds describes itself as an immersive arts and technology experience. It is located near 28th Street S and the 275 freeway in St. Petersburg. You’ll find the Pinellas Trail nearby. The area around it is home to some interesting street art.
below: Derek Donnelly’s Fairgrounds mural on the outside of their building.
below: “Girl Power”, is a mural of a girl and her horse among the sunflowers. It is a project that involved both the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida and the The Happy Mural Project.
below: Straight Edge Creative is responsible for the bright and cheerful music themed painting of the front of this building.
below: Einstein, and “Seek knowledge”
below: Gibbs Mural Club, “Local Bounty” A woman with a crown of flowers surrounded by blueberries, mangoes, lemons, watermelons, and other fruits and vegetables.
below: When two faces merge together, one canine eye and one human eye but two noses and two mouths. An interesting concept painted in blues by Marcus Debie aka GOMAD
below: Butterflies and bright words, “Go Outside” and hiding behind the palms are more words, “Look Inside”. This mural was painted by Sydney Prusso as part of the 8th SHINE Mural Festival in 2022.
below: “The Siren” by Sarah Sheppard
below: As part of the 2021 SHINE Mural Fetival, this was painted by Aurailieus
below: Abstract seaside scene in waves of blue and orange gradients.
below: More abstracts – Designs and patterns using triangles and colour variations.”
below: Blue headdress on a cute little creature.
below: “You are beautiful”, “You are amazing”, and other positive messages.
below: A 3-D cube and other shapes on the outside of the Hideaway Cafe
below: The long neck of a flamingo reaches around the corner towards a bit purple crab and an octopus
below: A pelican taking flight, part of a larger mural for the Florida Wildlife Corridor by Ernesto Maranje.
below: Words on the wall, “Haleakala, Our patron saint of perpetual street art”. I may have misspelled the first word – it’s actually the name of a volcano on Maui.
When I walked around the Mission District back in February, I walked Osage Lane and Orange Alley one after the other. Later that day when I was sorting my photos, I messed up where one set of pictures ended and the next set started. It’s possible that the photos that I posted a week or so ago were not just Osage Lane either! (Mission District: Osage Lane) The two laneways run parallel to each other, one on the east side of Bartlett Street and the other on the west side.
below: Someone is a Gladys Knight and the Pips fan with a quote from their song, ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’, “Trying to get back to a more simple place in time….”
below: A Cheech and Chong themed mural celebrating the famous comedy pair. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong rode the free loving, hippie era to success with stand-up routines, records, and films based largely on drugs/cannabis and other counterculture subjects.
below: “My name is…” a 2022 mural by Precita Eyes Muralists. Directed by Flavia E. Mora. Assisted by Teresa Benson. In collaboration with 6th and 7th grade arts electives students at Synergy School. It’s a mural that touches on most social justice issues of the day – Missing Equity, Land Back, Black and Trans Lives Matter, Equality, and Reproductive Rights.
below: Only some heads remain.
below: Frija, Goddess of Fertility with her antlers and long white hair.
below: Faded.
below: Pablo A. Medina, “There is so much love in this city”.
below: All in green – a large tree…. and a hand on a paint roller… and everything in between.
below: A colourful fellow with whiskers and button-like eyes, in a mural painted by Sune Nesu. It also has a little glowing halo; is this a memorial to a lost friend?
below: San Francisco under the window with the Golden Gate bridge in the background.
In the 1960s, Josefina and Jose Santana migrated from Jalisco Mexico to the San Francisco Bay area. Both of their sons, Carlos and Jorge, became famous musicians. Carlos Santana is world famous for his guitar playing; Jorge played with a Latin-rock bank, Malo.
On Osage Street by the 24th and Mission Street BART Plaza there is now a 60 foot mural celebrating the family’s contribution to the music scene. The mural also shows Carlos’ son Salvador on the keyboard.
“La Familia Santana” was painted in 2021 by San Francisco artists Crayone and Mark Bode. It incorporated sketch designs provided by Randolph Bowes and Jorge Santana.
There are many pop culture references to be found in this lane!
below: Animal from the Muppets
below: A row of cartoon characters on a bright red fence – Bart Simpson, Hello Kitty, Speedy Gonzales, Pokemon, and what looks like a giant green pickle.
below: Rapheal from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
below: South American influences
below: mmm
below: Mama Imelda from the movie “Coco”
below: Sonic
below: California Love
below: “All thru California …
below: … Mission be Kracking, a recent painting by H2DAK about surviving fires and earthquakes!below: Money flies at 2982
below: Money flies at 2982
Eyes on the Streets 