Beverly murals and stickers

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Mary C

… The Beverly in Massachusetts that is

below: Large back and white mural by Alex Senna with feet overhanging a parking lot.

large black, white, and grey mural by Alex Senna, a male, reclining, feet in sandals

below: The large feet also sit above a line of circus themed images. These vignettes, so to speak, are also seen on the other side of the building (a theater). Some of them are shown here.

feet from mural by Alex Senna, on red brick wall, with a line of circus images below, an elephant,

below: Two clowns.

below: Magic rings

below: Another magician with his props

below: “Welcome to the Golden Theater Beautiful” on one side and “Le Grand David and his Own Spectacular Magic Company” on the other.

below: Appropriately, it was painted on a bicycle store wall. Sadly, the bike shop closed in 2018 after being in business for 70 years. The frog on its bike endures.

on upper part of red brick building, a green frog on the seat of an old fashioned bicycle with a very large front wheel

below: Mural by Helen Bur and Sam Worthington, “Uprising”

below: This mural is dedicated to Howard Lomen (1959-2004). There are words written on the mural including: “Charles Olson and Vincent Ferrini fire their poetry pistols in a dual at niles beach.” It was painted by his son Erik Lomen. Both Olson and Ferrini (in the black hat) were poets from the Gloucester MA area (just up the coast from Beverly).

below: The blur of headlights in the night, a mural by Dana Woulfe

below: A lively flower arrangement by Hailey Bonia

below: Nowhere over fast and a burning car

below: Stay Calm and Love Your Neighbourhood

below: Stickers on a stop sign including a green snail

Photos taken July 2024

downtown Worcester

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Mary C

below: Wrdsmth – “This is my palette. A mere twenty-six deep, yet the possibilities are infinite.” … Plus his typewriter that appears in all his graffiti and street art. The mural also credits PowWow Worcester which was an annual arts festival (for a few years prior to 2021) that was responsible for bringing a number of murals to the city.

below: A tower of women, by Marka27, aka Victor Quinonez, 2016, a very vertical mural on the side of the parking garage at Federal Plaza.

below: A painting by Christina Angelina, another parking garage mural at Federal Plaza

below: Another mural that was painted during a PowWow Worcester is this cartoon-like painting by Greg Mike (2016).

below: Jason Eatherly’s trucks parked beside the old brick building.

below: One of the first murals painted in Worcester is this now slightly faded creation by Caleb Neelon

below: Calligraphy type design, part of a larger mural by Imagine, aka Sneha Shresta.

below: At the YWCA, two young girls in shades of blue on a red background.

below: Keep on smiling!

Photos taken July 2024

There were also murals by Damien Mitchell (below) and Insane that I saw in downtown Worcester but they have already been featured in a prior blog post, (Insane + One)

*****

Chicopee’s people

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Mary C

below: Chicopee mural along the ground floor level of an apartment building in the center of town.

many cars parked in front of a 4 storey brick apartment building, with murals painted across the lower level, the word chicopee in large red capital letters, a red and white tram with people, a woman on a bicycle, poppies,

below: From a different angle

red and white tram, with people, part of larger mural

below: The poppy as a symbol of remembrance. I haven’t been able to learn why it appears in at least three murals in the city unless it is coincidence). There are poppies in the Chicopee mural above as well as on this smaller painting. The state flower is the mayflower so that is not an explanation for the poppy….

below: “Work and Progess”, Commonwealth Murals, 2022

mural with title workers and progress, people in different jobs, different ages, men and women, and children

part of a larger mural, workman in a hardhat

woman, grandmother, and children in a mural

below: “Paint the Woods” by Christina Bryden, 2020 – A stained glass rose window makes this building look like a church but it is actually Chicopee City Hall. It was built in the early 1870s and the architect was Charles E. Parker of Boston. It was modelled on the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence Italy. Chicopee is on the Connecticut River.

mural by christena bryden titled paint the woods, shows chicopee city hall on the shore of a river, Connecticut river

below: USS Chicopee – During WW2 she served as a station tanker, or as an escort oiler, helping to refuel ships along the eastern USA coast or in the Atlantic. In the later stages of the war she saw service assisting the US Pacific Fleet (during Iwo Jima and Okinawa). In 1946 she was returned to her owners, Standard Oil; she ended her life as a container ship, under a few different names. She was scrapped in 2010.

black lives matter mural, portrait of three people with a word associated with each, valued, beloved, worthy,

below: A large white dog on a blue leash, a painting by Betz (half of dou, Etam Cru), aka Polish artist Mateusz Gapski. Painted March 2024 – it is on the same apartment building as the Chicopee mural at the top of this blog post. This painting was also a Beyond Walls project.

large mural of a white dog with a blue leash

Photos taken July 2024

El Punto apartments, Salem

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Mary C

The “El Punto” Neighborhood in Salem, Massachusetts now features over 75 large scale murals, by both world renowned and local artists, within a 3 block radius. It is all part of the Punto Open Air Museum, or Punto Urbana Art Project. This blog post focuses on the murals on the sides of a group lowrise (3 storey) apartment buildings in that neighbourhood. Some of these buildings are close together making it awkward to photograph the murals while still keeping in mind the residents’ privacy.

below: Avery happy woman in shades of purple, this is “Anacoana” by Ruben Ubiera, 2017

two buildings separated by a walkway, each has a mural on the side

below: “Communion with us” by GLeo – a young woman in white veil, dress and gloves.

group of 3 storey apartment buildings in el punto neighbourhood in Salem Massachusetts, home of Punto Open Air Museum, large murals on exterior walls

below: “Eternal Vibrations” by Trek6 (aka Oscar Montes). A hummingbird with long flowing colourful tail feathers, like ribbons blowing in the breeze as the bird flies.

below: One of the walkways between buildings.

below: Like the text says, “Here for the Imaginable” by Meg Zany, 2018

below: The shape of leaves, white on reddish brown, in an untitled mural by Veronica Rivera.

below: Part of “Stranger Things” by Jeff Henriquez, 2017 – three men in three different colours, with a night time scene with car lights and roads, running through them. (full mural in the next photo)

below: “Three Eyed Witch” by Edward Granger, 2018

below: ” El Campesino” ( or The Farmer) by Ruben Ubiera, 2017

below: Tucked back in a corner is an untitled mural by Aquarela Sabol

below: Krave’s “El Mono Fresco”

below: High up on a wall, a flower adorned head and a profile portrait of a woman, “Kaupoku” by Hula

below: Up high, a man in a white hat. The mural, “Tirando Con Pique”, is painted on a wall beside a staircase. Don Rimx is the artist. 2017

Photos taken August 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

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

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.