new murals on West 15th Street,

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A couple of stretches of concrete wall in Pilsen have recently been opened up to street artists in Chicago.  This post documents the murals that have just been completed on West 15th Street along the railway tracks.

below: Some party animals by Blake Jones

party animals mural by Blake Jones of a large pink rabbit and a green crocodile

below: by Natalia Virafuentes

street art painting by Vira Feuntes of a red face within a brown oval, turquois emouth and three eyes

below: Burger flowers by kozmo (aka Brenda Lopez)

burger flowers mural by Branda Lopez in Chicago, two large flowers, one with pink petals and the other with purple petals, the centers are hamburgers with cheese, they also have faces and tongues that stick out

below: Sup! A large green skull by @eee.matador_x (aka The Paint Reaper)

a large green skull in a mural

below: A close up of the last letter, Y, in the word Unity painted by Antonio Beniquez.

the letter Y written large as part of a mural that spells the word unity. Black and gold on top, white in the mddle and red along the bottom

row of murals on 15th street, along railway wall, Chicago

below: On the right, a blue crazy creature by @the_red_door (aka Reddor Santiago)

a mural with two creatures, a black cartoon cat head and shoulders, skinny arm with white gloved hand, long red nose. The other is a light blue, skull on top, smiley face with big teeth on the bottom

street art painting of a blue man with big square head with a red heart in it

below: A close up of a pink and blue creature by (sub) Urban Warrior. (aka Natalie)

pink nose, pink horns, green hair, blue face and eyes, mural

below: JoeyD finishing his mural of white creatures and rainbows.  On his right is a blue bird, by Fedz

two murals, on the right is a large blue bird sitting on a white branch with a red background by fedz and on the left joey d is finishing his mural

There is also a row of murals on South Wood Street that have just been painted and if you scroll down to the next post you will find the murals on Wood.  Those of you who know Pilsen, or have visited these walls, will know that the two projects (this one and the next) intersect at the corner of 15th and Wood.

new murals on South Wood Street, Chicago

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A couple of stretches of concrete wall in Pilsen have recently been opened up to street artists in Chicago.  One of these is on South Wood Street immediately north of the railway tracks (by West 15th Street).   This past week, August 2019, a group of artists painted the wall.  This is a selection of the murals that now adorn that wall.

below: Some of the new murals

a person walks past a wall covered with many murals beside a street, South Wood Street

below: As you emerge from under the bridge, this is the first mural that you see on the west side of Wood Street.

a mural that is partially under a railway bridge, metal supports for the bridge in the picture,

a mural on South Wood Street, a person with a wide brimmed hat carrying a ghetto blaster on her shoulder

below: Peace mural by @sob_e (aka Eliza Riley Delgado)

two murals on a wall beside a street, one has the word peace

below: Warrior City Tribe by Mero

warrior city tribe mural on a wall on Wood street in Pilsen

two murals on a wall, both with birds

below: Breaking down walls and letting the rats and vermin out.

two murals on a wall, painted like hole in the wall with rats, cat, and skunk

below: Two alligators (Crocodiles?), one break dancing and one stepping out in a hoodie and bling.

mural on a concrete wall in Pilsen, two alligators or crocodiles, one in a hoodie and one standing on one front leg and smiling

two murals on a wall, one is mostly red and has a wizard cap with a star on it and the other is mostly yellow

below: Sponge Bob Square Pants tries his hand at singing while Bart Simpson spins.

mural on South Wood street in pilsen illinois, a dance scene with an angry sponge bob square pants singing while Bart Simpson is the D J with two turn tables, a man is trying to dance

a small tree in front of two murals on a wall

below: On the left is a mural by Yo Loco

two murals on a wall

below: by @All_CITY_COWBOY, helicopter, music, and mayhem in the city.

a mural by @all_city_cowboy, helicopter, shadow silhouette figures

below: With the green lizard character standing by

two murals on a wall, one with green lizard character

en masse on West 16th Street, Chicago

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In September 2013, part of the mile long mural on the West 16th Street railway wall was painted by en masse, a Montreal based collaborative. Like most of their work, it is painted in black and white.   It is too big for one photo so I hope that this small collection of images give you a sense of what the whole looks like.

men and women beside the bridge

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On West 16th in Pilsen, there is a bridge where S. Blue Island Avenue goes under the railway tracks.  On the west is a mural featuring five women that was painted in 2016 by Sam Kirk and Sandra Antongiorgi to balance the “Galeria del Barrio” across the street.     “Galeria del Barrio” consists of a long row of different coloured men’s faces that portray different emotions.  This is the oldest mural in the area and was originally created by Aurelio Diaz with the help of 20 children from St. Procopius Church in 1976.   It was restored in 2016 by Sam Kirk.  The men’s heads at the west end are 10 feet tall.

On the west side:

part of a mural by Sam Kirk and Sandra Antongiorgi of five large women's heads

part of a mural by Sam Kirk and Sandra Antongiorgi of large women's heads, some trees in the way mural by Sam Kirk and Sandra Antongiorgi of three large women's heads

On the east side:

mens faces in profiles in different colours, large, about 10 feet tall, mural on a wall beside the railway tracks in Pilsen Chicago, Galeria del Barrio. One face is green and has a red tongue that is sticking out

mens faces in profiles in different colours, large, about 10 feet tall, mural on a wall beside the railway tracks in Pilsen Chicago, Galeria del Barrio

mens faces in profiles in different colours, large, about 10 feet tall, mural on a wall beside the railway tracks in Pilsen Chicago, Galeria del Barrio

Galeria des barios, a mural of men's faces in profile, different colours, different emotions,

More information about the mural

J-DEF Peace Project, mosaic, Pilsen

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Near the 18th Street CTA stop on the pink line, and in the Pilsen area of Chicago, is a mosaic mural by the J-DEF Peace Project.

purple background, mosaic mural, words that say J DEF peace project

mosaic mural outside on a wall at 18th and Paulina in Pilsen area of Chicago, an arm raised with a fist along with the words paz, talk to your neighbors

part of a mural at 18th and Paulina in Pilsen area of Chicago, by J-DEF peace project, a portrait of Jeff Maldonado Jr. for whom the project is named after, as well as a picture with the theme of create safe places away from gun violence

The J-DEF Peace Project by the parents of Jeff Maldonado who was shot a day after his 19th birthday.  It is a program that works towards ending gun violence among Chicago’s youth.  They have made a safe place for young people to come together to participate in art projects and other programs.

moasaic mural of tiles with words create safe places. A picture of a body outline on the ground with three red hearts, also shadows of two people with long hair on swings. A man plays a drum with the words Rudy Avina

below: A tribute to Ana Mateo, Francisco Mendoza, and Javier Merino.
Pilsen wall of honor part of mosaic mural, pictures and names of three people, young girl Ana Mateo, and two men, Francisco Mendoza and Javier Merino.

below: Police officer Brian Strouse is also on the Wall of Honor.

mosaic tribute to policeman, Brian Strouse, along with the words we need to work hard to make the world better

The words under the four portraits say:
“We need to work hard to make the world better
Stop killin’ each other, start comin’ together
But the things you want in life like the cars and the bling
Got you blinded by the fact that its only a dream.”

below: The end of the mural, “make smart choices”.

part of a mosaic mural, J DEF peace project, back of a car, with words make smart choices

Plovdiv street art

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While walking around the city of Plovdiv I found a lot of great street art.

below:  A floating candle in the night sky,

mural of a man from behind, one hand behind his back , the other hand in the air just released a candle, or is reaching for the candle

below: Behind the Drama Theatre in Plovdiv, on one of its bright red walls, is a large mural by Bozko. Is this older man in a jester outfit a political statement?

a large mural of an older man in jester outfit, with arms crossed in front of him, make up on his face

below: These red walls were also painted with a large horizontal mural (next three photos).  A woman sleeps among purple flowers.  Is she dreaming of skulls and hands?  Is it a nightmare?

below: As much of the mural as I could get in one photo.

below: Another woman sleeps but with books as her pillow.   Transported into dreamland by the words she’s read.


below: Bloody Romance by Ernaste Nasimo

the story of romance, a mural by ernesto nasimo of a man giving a blue flower to a woman with shoulder length brown hair, on a red background

below: Another painting by Nasimo called “The Chain Rockers”.  It looks like he has just broken the chain with his teeth.  Behind the head is an open book with words written on the pages.  On the left is “raja-vidya raja-guhyam pavitram idam uttamam pratyaksavagamam dharmyam su-sukham kartum avyayam”.  On the right is the partial translation of this Krishna text into English: “This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct”

mural on a wall of the head ans shoulders of an older balding man with beard, moustache, and large white teeth. He has an angry look on his face. his collar is in Bulgarian colours, red, yellow and black. An open padlock is in his beard and a chain runs across the lower par tof his face but it lookslike he has just broken it with his teeth

below: Watermelon seeds make the eyes and nose of the watermelon face… but then he eats the watermelon?  Two paintings by Viktoria Georgieva and Nikolay Bozhinov, aka Mouse and Nikkawhy

two murals side by side, one by mishka the mouse, and the other by aleksi varna. on the left is a watermelon cut open, seeds form a happy face, and the mural on the right is a person in round glasses eating a slice of watermelon

below: A boy with a large black bird painted on a box.

a painting on an electrical box on the street, of a boy with round orange glasses holding a large black bird

below: Four eyes, one of which is the handle for the box.

below: Cupid in browns pointing his arrow at an unsuspecting victim.

a small graffiti piece of a small chubby partially naked cupid with an arrow ready to shoot from his bow.

below: Bare toes, blue jeans, and a striped sweater.  A comb in one pocket and a little critter in the other.

below: Some whimsical, cartoon-like characters on a blue cloud.

small mural of a group of cartoon-like characters standing on a blue cloud, signature is mora.

below: She’s wearing flowers in her hair – is that hair being held up with chopsticks?

mural of a woman with large glasses and two flowers in her hair. she is holding something blue in one hand

below: A very long tongue from a happy frog wraps itself around a dragonfly.

below: My Bulgarian is non-existent so I’m not sure what this says.  Covered in tattoos and puffing on red smoke as he takes a rest on his bike.

mural of a bald man with a mustache on bike with lake and sunset behind him, puffing on red smoke, covered in tattoos,

below: And last, a quiet cup of tea by the mail box in the shadow of little triangular flags hanging across the street.

All in white, like a silhouette, a tall lamp stand with three lamps at the top, a woman sitting beside a table with a tea pot and a vase on it.

Stern in Plovdiv

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There are numerous paintings by Bulgarian street artist Dimitar Mekhandziiski (aka Stern) in Plovdiv Bulgaria.   Here are some of the ones that I saw in April 2017. a woman is taking a photo of a large mural by Dimitar Mehandjiiski a k a stern in Plovdiv, external wall, puppets people

below: A dragon hand puppet on the end of a blue arm and another man in a red hoodie, looking down on the stage as a man walks past.

a man with a blue face and blue arm holds a dragon hand puppet while another man in a red hoodie holds a fox puppet

below: The making of a wooden puppet?

an older man with reading glasses and balding hair holds a wood puppet with a round head and a stick-like neck

below: The crocodile (alligator?) has a blue glass heart between its jaws.  Be careful!  Is that a grenade inside the crystal?

looking at the corner of a building, with murals on two sides. One side is of a man riding a purple and pink alligator or crocdile. The other side is not seen as easily and are more creatures

below: Empty chairs and a table in front of a mural… a pink creature beside another ugly creature with green skin, beady eyes, and a very long tongue.   Inside the window next door is the face of a strangely beautiful character with long hair, pink eyes, and blue skin.  In its hand (with watch on its wrist) is a flaming torch.

murals by stern on the side of an old building in Plovdiv

below: Riding the dragon (crocodile?) and wearing a mask.

a person in a mask with an orange beak is sitting on what looks like an inflatable green dragon

below: In contrast to his other work, this frog and these mushrooms look much more realistic.

A light green frog sits on a dark green leaf, mushrooms on both sides of him, some of the mushrooms have beige and white striped caps and some have red tops with white dots

whale mural

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The whale mural was painted in 2013 along Stewart Street near the north entrance to Richmond Station in Melbourne.   It is 40 metres long and was painted by Mike Makatron and Everfresh Studios.  In the past few years, some tags have been painted on top of it.  This is what it looks like today (December 2018) – in sections because of its size.

whale mural that is 40 metres long, on a wall, by train station, head of a whale, some black tags over it. part of a whale mural showing pink brain inside head part of a whale mural showing that red heart as a pump part of a whale mural, car parked in front of it, showing machinery as parts that keep the whale moving

part of a whal mural, white ribs surrounding innards, and tail

Baptist Lane, Melbourne

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Graffiti and street art seen in Baptist Lane, CBD

below: looking down the lane.  On the immediate right is an old mural of the Last Supper which has been scrawled over almost to the point of making the mural indecipherable.

graffiti and street art in an alley, pale yellow walls

once it was a sepia toned painting of the last supper (religious) but it has had a lot of graffiti written on top of it

below: A blank eyed bride with her flowers

black and white pasteup of a bride in veil, with 5 black stars encircling her head, holding a large bouquet of flowers

below: Two faced and holding up a jacket.

two black and white pasteups on a wall. on the right is a pair of white hands holding up an open jacket and on the left is a woman's head with two pairs of eyes, and a pair of hands below the head

below: Red brick wall and a window box

two windows in a small building in a lane, surrounding the windows is street art like a window box, awning, and then the wall space between the windows is decorated too

street art beside a window

below: I’m against all authority except my mother (close enough translation anyhow).

words on top and below a headless figure holding the head of a woman in its hands, words say contro toda autoridad excepto mi mama which is Spanish for I defy all authority except my mother below: Studying the hole in the fence

black and white pasteup of a person in a hoodie standing behind a chain link fence with a hole in it.

below: Two little catstwo black and white cats on a pasteup in a lane