On all four corners of an intersection in a residential area of Heerlen (Netherlands) there is a mural on the side of one of the buildings. They were all painted by the same artist and they all feature some aspect of Dutch culture or history. A pink and purple theme also runs through them all.
below: On Oude Kerkstraat is “Operation Heartbeat” by American artist Gaia – A heart surrounded by different flowers from the Dutch “Empire”
below: Another Gaia mural across the street from his hearts and flowers is this bit of local history – Former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Joop den Uyl, announces the end of the coal mining in Limburg, December 1, 1965.
below: ‘Tulipmania’. The face is that of Frederik Hendrik (1584-1647) who was a Statdtholder of the Dutch Republic, as well as a sovereign Prince of Orange during the Dutch Golden Age, i.e. in the time of Tulipmania. I doubt that he’s a recognizable face these days but it’s an interesting detail just the same.
below: ‘Resilience’ was influenced by the painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder (d. 1569) who painted scenes of everyday peasant life. Here is a contemporary scene of everyday urban life.
Passage De La Main D’Or is a narrow street in the 11th arr. in Paris. At one point the street turns and becomes Rue De La Main D’Or. It is at this turning point that I saw the following:
below: Street scene, Passage De La Main D’Or with markings and small artworks on a wall.
below: She’s printed on pre-printed paper. It appears to be a cocktail drink list written in English with Bloody Mary being the last drink on her neck. Another drink on the list is gin, lime juice, and simple syrup.
below: Many little things. At the very top is a brightly coloured Stoeyes image of a young woman with a blue face. Just below her are three “tourists” with their phones and their Paris bags drawn by Erwan Guerroué.
below: Mosiac tile shapes, a running person who’s hard to see, and a black and white photo in the top right corner. The photo shows a woman standing outside a building and smoking a cigarette. It has been given the title Respiro and it is signed Les Vies Dansent.
Rue Oberkampf is in the 11th arrondissement in Paris.
below: Tall pink mural by Francis Essoua, (aka Enfant Précoce)
below: A mix of little scenes, thunder and lightning, twins in red, pictures in a gallery,
below: Horse, by BONOM aka Vincent Glowinski
below: There were two little quick sketch portraits in red and yellow, possibly by LUIS?
below: A squashed spray paint can, a NEXT (nextmosaic) pedestrian crossing mosaic, and an orange and purple skull.
below: More little things, mostly paper this time – white dove of peace on the mailbox and two larger pieces beside, both by Corine Forest
below: These stencils were on a building at the corner of rue Oberkampf and rue Camille Crespin du Gast in the 11th.
below: A Kraken (aka Lou Daho) octopus, swims past as an orange cat or tiger jumps down.
below: “Telemaqueland” by Hervé Télémaque, was painted in 2000 along with eleven other large murals in Paris as part of a project “the walls of the year 2000” (les murs de l’an 2000).
below: Like many Paris streets, there is an Invader mosaic high up on a wall.
In Seville’s Poligono de San Pablo neighbourhood there is a growing number of murals on the ends of the midrise buildings that in the area. Since 2010, the group Arte Para Todos has organized the painting of most of these murals.
below: LEFT: “Younger Hands” by Josh Sarantitis. RIGHT: “Planeta Tierra” by Luis Alberto López Cruz
below: A closer look at the mural on the left, a young child pushes a wheel barrow.
below: And next, a closer look at the faces and abstractions in “Planeta Terra” – a horse, pink faces, flowers, and leaves.
below: “Flemenca” dancer by Maya Angelon, Verónica Werckmeister, and Cristina Werckmeister, painted early in February 2023. The words were taken from two sources – a song and a poem. They say “NOW you understand just why my head’s not bowed – it’s in the CLICK of my heels and the BEND of my hair, the palm of my hand, the need of my care, ’cause I’m a PHENOMENALLY phenomenal WOMAN, that’s me.”
below: Blue Earth map on Plaza Adoracion de Los Pastores. “Will tomorrow’s world be free?”. Signed INO, Wang Lu, Fl Vincent, Art For All 2010.
below: A South American themed “Inca Dreams”
below: Sleeping baby, “El niño” by Elninodelaspinturas, painted February 2023.
below: Two large murals and a green wall adorn the buildings.
below: A man divided, a man in two styles, a man painted by 310 Squad and given the title “Communist”. 310 Squad is a Russian artist, Stepan Krasnov.
below: All together in a banana-man boat, sailing through the water with the snakes and fishes in an imaginative creation by Nelson Roman. “El Cacique Banana y sus Guerreros” (The Chief Banana and his Warriors).
below: Yellow dots make the man – with a melting chin? Is he crying horizontal tears? The piece is titled “La Mirada Ilorona” (translates to the weeping look or the maudlin look) and it was also painted by 310 Squad.
below: Close by the weeping man, is another mural in yellow
below: “Agua Fértil” by Ivan Fiallos, rain falls into the water.
below: This is what lies under the water, a man on his back with his knees pointed upwards. A parrot sits on his knees while a dead? bird lies on his stomach.
below: She carries the city in a basket on her head as she wades past the ships and boats in a mural by Katie Yamasaki. The title is “Dedicado a la Infancia” (Dedicated to Childhood)
below: Filosofia, philosophy personified or brought to life?
below: Dancing in the garden
below: The next three go together with this first photo being the center of the artwork on a Parroquia de San Pablo wall.
On the back of an apartment building in Seville (Sevilla) Spain there is a mural that is a collection of scenes involving fantasy animals and characters.
below: Long and flexible arms make it possible for her to water the flowers and reach out to others at the same time. … even if she’s got wet hair.
Six artists were involved: Francisco Javier, Hiquera Gonzales, Lolita Paz, Sandra Del Gado, Roberto Moreno and Joaquin Heredia.
Meet Senor Schnu – you’ll know him by his black mustache, his brown stick body, and the bite out of his head. This half eaten popsicle is the creation of Philip Wallisfurth. He has his own Instagram page.
below: Spreading Schnumunism like Chinese propaganda
below: A large paper paste-up of a rainbow flavored Senor Schnu hovers above the owl.
below: A kiss for the big guy
below: Snowy, Tintin’s little white wire fox terrior, is carrying this Senor Schnu in its mouth – running off to have adventures?
below: Senor Schnu, a wanted criminal in a Dick Tracey cartoon.
The German word for mustache is schnurbartt Photos taken October 2023
The “If Walls Could Speak” festival in 2019 was an Amsterdam Street Arts (ASA) project whose aim was to create 10 large murals, each on the end of a row of apartments on Platanenweg in Amsterdam Oost. These are the ten murals.
below: First, “In Case of Lost Childhood, Break Glass” by Leon Keer.
below: This mural is a Sjem Bakkus & IVES.one collaboration and is titled “De appel valt niet ver van de boom.” (in English: The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree).
below: A mural by British artist Dan Kitchener of a Japanese Geisha as well as a street scene on a rainy night.
below:aka Painting by Studio Giftig (aka Niels van Swaemen and Kaspar van Leek) – a bare footed woman in mid-air with a few pigeons.
below: A bird with pink, green, and turquoise feathers is keeping an eye on the balcony. It was painted by Dopie.
below: Lots of arms and hands holding boxes in a mural with the title of “Carrying Belongings” by Case Maclaim.
below: A boy under a tree with a creature (dragon?) in his hands. The text says “When it comes to settling disputes, compassion is more useful than magic”. It was painted by German artist Hera (one half of the artistic partnership, Herakut).
below: The symbol of Amsterdam, the three white X’s on a black stripe with a red background. It is based on the city’s coat of arms which features a red shield with a black band and three silver St. Andrew’s crosses. The same design is found on the Amsterdam flag. Mural was painted by Kash (aka Friso Kasher) and Chuck (or Chuckone)
below: This girl and her little pink heart are part of a large mural by Julieta XJF, “Wherever you come from, here you are welcome.”
below: Three of the buildings with the murals on them.
below: “Beter een goede buur, dan een verre vriend.” (English: “Better a good neighbor than a distant friend.”) is the title of this mural by Smug One.
below: Although it wasn’t part of the 2019 festival, this mural by DFace is across the street from the others. “I feel so incomplete” reads the text. It is actually a few years older than the other murals that I have shown here.
“L’Etranger” by Os Gemeos is a very large and rather strange man with skinny legs and long skinny arms. His feet are bare.
He’s holding a tiny house with a crooked chimney into which a woman barely fits. Her feet stick out the open door and one arm is out the window but she seems quite content. She’s hardly bigger than the knee patch on his brown pants.
On the other hand there is a balancing act going on. She’s holding a megaphone while standing on stilts AND while carrying another creature on her back. Yes, this is definitely Strange!
This guy has a little white bird one one finger. His arm is outstretched as he either disappears back into the wall, or as he comes out of the wall. He’s wearing a bright green shirt buttoned up tight to his neck that doesn’t quite match the hexagon patterned pants. One little fancy curl graces the top of his head.
There are two murals, bright eye catching red helping to hold up a bridge in Heerlen. They were both painted by Brazillian artist Finok, aka Raphael Sagarra, in 2014. The first mural is painted in mostly white, red, and green… three masks, a fish, and a chicken-like creature.
On the same bridge, across the street, is another Finok mural. It too is on a red background. Is the fish about to eat the white headed guy? Or like a genie, has he just been conjured from the fish’s mouth? Whatever the backstory is, the white headed guy looks rather frightened.
Eyes on the Streets 