stencils on blue

Posted on October 20, 2025 by Mary C

… on a wooden fence in Balmy Alley

below: The bottom part of the fence is painted blue before stencils of faces were added.

below: On the top part of the fence, other shapes were also added, along with a lot of white dots.

below: “Cuidado hay perro” Beware of dog.

with gate handle and lock, street art mural on a wood fence in balmy alley, mission district in san francisco, bottom part painted blue, stencils of faces, shapes and white dots, vine growing over top

street art mural on a wood fence in balmy alley, mission district in san francisco, bottom part painted blue, stencils of faces, shapes and white dots, vine growing over top

Photos taken February 2025

Dream Home

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Mary C

On a fence in Salem Massachusetts is a series of paintings by a group of artists who used the book “A Dream Called Home” as inspiration. The book is a memoir by Mexican-American author Reyna Grande and in it tells of her dreams of a stable home and how she makes it happen. Last year several artists participated in the project, including six local artists from the neighborhood. These are the murals on that fence.

Punto Urban Art Museum is the organization behind this project. It was founded by North Shore Community Development Coalition (North Shore CDC) in Salem’s historic El Punto neighbourhood. This fence is but one of their many projects.

below: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Tortugas” by Kearin Alexander Frias is on the left.

murals on a fence in Salem's El Punto neighbourhood, Dream of Home theme

below: Anatomically correct heart in blue hands, a painting by Llemonmoss.

mural, mutant teenage ninja turtle, using dominican turtles instead

below: Left – “Home Cooked Meals Feed the Soul” by Nick Pinciaro and on the right – “Vessel” by Amanda Beard Garcia.

two cooking theme murals on a fence in salem, on the right is person holding a rice cooker

below: Left – “My Father’s Keeper” by Emily Kwong and on the right – “Nou La” by Rachel Domond

two murals on a fence, a small tree is in front of the one on the left which is a man's face

below: There is text in the background that is difficult to see in this photo but it is a blend of two quotes from the book:  “You are now bilingual, bicultural, and binational. You are not less. You are more, twice the girl you used to be.” Painted by Yixuan Zeng

below: “Last Night Precipice” by Margarita Krylova

below: “Detachment” by T.J. Gansenberg

below: Left – ” A Tiny Home, A Perfect Fit” by ERA and on the right – “Coffee” by Alba Ward

mural on a fence, on the right is a dunkin donuts coffee cup in front of an american flag

below: Left – “Seek Peace and Pursue it” by Alexa Wilson, and on the right – “Growth” by Joshua Beckett

below: “Raiz Enmascarada” by Jean Cardona

below: “Parque Infantil” by Altagracia

below: Left – “Nesting” by Jacob Ginga and on the right – “Growth” by Vicky Ortega

two murals on a fence in salem, on left, a gold and orange bird

below: “Eternamente Bienvenida” by Katherine Castillo

below: “Trabajando Por Un Sueño Mejor” by Ramon Santiago

black cut outs in turtle shapes on a black metal fence

below: “Coming Together” by Tatianna Rivas and Armani Lewis.

Photos taken July 2024

Barreiro train station vicinity

Posted on April 4, 2023 by Mary C

Although it is a city in its own right, Barreiro seems like a suburb of Lisbon. It is most easily accessed by a short ferry ride across the Tagus River from central Lisbon. The Barreiro train station is next to the ferry dock. There are now numerous murals in Barreiro in part because of a project called Art in Town run by the City Council and ADAO.

The building in the middle is ADAO Headquarters (Associação Desenvolvimento Artes e Ofícios, translation: Assoc for the Development of Arts and Crafts)

view from bridge, ADAO headquarters, an old industrial site, with street art murals on it

below: A hole in the concrete wall provides a short cut across the tracks as well as a different view of the murals painted by Gonçalo Mar (aka Gonçalo Ribeiro) and Odheit

concrete fence with part removed for a walkway, building with murals in the background

below: On the fence, a owl keeps a watchful eye on passers-by

on a concrete block wall, a street art painting of an owl's face

below: A closer view of the ADAO Headquarters mural . The fish-like figures swimming on the walls appear frequently in Mar’s work.

mural by Mar on A D A O building by the train station in Barreiro Portugal. Hands. Fish like creatures, a big pink flower, an adult habd reaching out and touching fingers of a small child's hand, grey hexagons

below: A head with long flowing grey and turquoise hair emerges from the hexagons.

mural of the head of a grey faced older woman with eyes closed, flowing grey hair, emerging from grey and turquoise hexagons

below: Backyard view

back of an old industrial building with a small fenced in yard, old plastic chairs, graffiti on walls,

below: Punk red feathers

street art painting in a yard, a brown skinned man with red feathers in his hair and orange paint marks on his face

below: Two street art portraits; the woman on the right was painted by Pedro Pinhal

two portraits, street art, on the left in black and white, an older wrinkled faced man while on the right in colour, a younger brown woman with a metal head band and necklace

a black and white street art portrait of a man with bald forehead but long hair at the back, hoop ear rings and necklaces

below: A mermaid, octopus, paper sailboat, and fish bones

below: Ursa’s laptop and old flip phone has begun to sprout.

below: Old School Futuristes

below: Each one teach one

below: Rays of sunshine above with sharp angles of concrete below.

below: Back to the front of the ADAO Headquarters ….

below: …. where this beauty stands by the entrance.

flying paper airplanes –

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Mary C

a mural by Zabou

This happy playful mural can be seen on Rue Godefroy in the 13th arr. It is one of many in Paris painted by Zabou, a French artist now living in England.

white van parked in front of a concrete wall with half of a mural, a boy in old fashioned aviator goggles is throwing a paper airplane to a girl in the other half of the mural

boy in aviator goggles and jacket, mural by Zabou on Rue Godefroi in 13th arr

two parts of a mural on a concrete wall, with a green gate between them, aa boy on the far half, a girl on the closer half, both with paper airplanes

yellow car parked in front of a mural, close up of legs with blue running shoes

in a mural by Zabou, boy's face, happy, wearing aviator goggles

Baptist Lane, Melbourne

Posted on December 15, 2018 by Mary C

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 cats two black and white cats on a pasteup in a lane

in an alley with my umbrella

Posted on November 17, 2018 by Mary C

in Montreal.

below: This large mural by M.C. Baldassari is at one end of the lane, at Prince Arthur.

large mural on the side of the building, in greens on red background, three women with dark gren hair and bright green eyes

below: The very bottom part of the mural

small part of a large mural on a brick wall in an alley, red and green,

As you walk down the lane, there are a number of older murals along with a lot of graffiti.

blue umbrella in a lane with street art and autumn trees on both sides

below: A Waxhead creation

street art by wax head by two exterior metal staircases in a montreal alley, green and blue figures

below: Three mermaids by three different artists including lulukathulu and Amanda Valdes

a mural with three different mermaids by three different artists

a blue umbrella beside a fence with large grey and red text graffiti, wet day, autumn, leaves on the ground,

below: A blue eye on the door. With a smaller eye drawn inside it.

a bit blue eye painted on a brown door, with lots of graffiti around it.

below: Some of the murals have been tagged over. Parts of the pink animals (and blue dog) are still peeking out above the mess.

a mural of large pink animals has been tagged over on the bottom part

a large mural with a bright yellow and pink tag on the bottom of it,

a red umbrella sits on the ground beside a mural

street art art mural in a laneway, back of building,

more Denver street art

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Mary C

More Denver street art from this past summer.

below: A blue astronaut

an astronaut dressed in blue sitting on a kids swing, mural, two storeys high, helmet,

mural of a chicken standing in a window. sitting on the ground beside the window is a young man in brown pants and blue t-shirt with a chicken mask covering his face

a large mural of a grey rabbit sitting on a green turtle

gate, painted with mural, large blue face, eyes, nose and cheeks, light green highlights,

mural of peace symbol with the angle lines (2) in red paint, a large blue featherin the center, the words #nobannowall

mural on grey wood fence of a very large insect from the side, pincer claws, six little light blue legs and a tail that curves upward, pink body, yellow tail,

mural on a garage door of a large octopus with its legs all tied up in knots.

large painting by @blvdart of a yellow bird with black and white head

mural in bright colours and abstract shapes, one wringly face, an eye and a nose, some squares,

picture of a man in black and white, mount on a wall, weathered, some writing around the edges

we the people poster featuring a young black woman with long dreadlocks and a red t-shirt

faded poster on an exterior wall, picture of young woman with flower in her hair and the words we the people

a metal enclosed trailer is in a parking lot, the back has a portrait of Prince painted on it.

a small mural on an upper storey wall of a small person, naked, sitting with knees up, wearing a large white animal mask

a mural on an upper level of a building, two characters, one white and one green,

large woman's face covering the front of a two storey house, rectangle front, flat, cubist like style

light green mural, black line drawing of an airplane? or a gun?

two metal boxes outside and a meter box, all covered with stickers

genfit store or gym, characters on outside wall in gym or exercise clothes, cartoonish characters

Denver street art

Posted on August 26, 2017 by Mary C

Like a number of cities have done, Denver has a district where large murals and other street art is encouraged. In Denver’s case it is the River North (RiNo) Art District and the most street art is found along Larimer Street although I also found some at the top of Blake Street. Here is the first batch of murals and paintings that I saw.

below: Love This City mural. It is one of three ‘love’ murals, one in each of three neighbourhoods, by Pat Milbery.

horizontal mural in Denver with cursive writing that says Love this city.

below: A colourful head by Detour303

Denver street art mural of a woman's face on a large door. bright blue hair, background is pink and purple, skin in oranges, yellows and blues, by Detour303

below: by Chris Spade. Haven’t you always wanted an octopus on your head?

Denver street art mural of a woman, from the waist up, naked, black x's over her nipples, large purple octopus on her head as well as large headphones over the ears. eye of the octopus shows. by Chris Spade

below: Snarling at people on the street. Or maybe he’s screaming.

on a fence, street art, text and stylized throw up in greens on either side of a large black face with mouth open showing white teeth,

below: A purplish woman in profile, with red and reddish circles.

mural of woman's profile in purplish tones, green hair, also her hand is in the painting. a red circle on her left and her right.

below: What one can do with a wall that isn’t flat. From one side you see a boy, walk in the other direction and you see a girl. Stand across the street and look straight at the building, the people disappear. This is “Larimar Boy and Girl” by Jeremy Burns.

large mural of an oval face in white with black feature on a blue and brown background. wall is 3D so the mural changes depending on which angle you look at it. Straight on, only the blue and brown background shows. from one side, a boy's face, from the other side, a girl's face

below: Peaking out from behind the porch

on a wall on Blake St in Denver, a face in oranges and purples partially behind an overhang porch over a door a

below: by Gamma Gallery

Denver street art mural of a woman with long hair that is actually butterflies, by Gamma Gallery. She has her face in hands, like a mask, revealing her skull below. Very large, two storeys high

below: I am not sure if this mural, painted by Max Sansing (MAX) means anything. The orange melting over the blue makes it look very creepy. I like the little purple girl on the tire swing though.

Denver street art mural of a woman's head, top part is orange and bottom is blue, the orange part is melting into the blue. eyes closed. From the cheek, in purple, a small tire swing with a small girl playing on it.

below: Another colourful head on a door. This one is by illson.

colourful mural on a garage door by illson in denver of a woman looking upward, with one of her hands raised up a bit

below: A grid pattern of stylized flowers on Blake Street.

older street art on a concrete block wall in Denver, stylized four petal flowers in a grid pattern, blues on the tops and yellows and oranges on the bottom. some weeds growing up beside the wall.

below: Keep an open mind.

Denver street art on a small, low concrete wall of a green figure with the words keep an open mind. a graffiti covered garbage skip is beside it.

below: It’s an ad for Botanicare but it’s roots are in street art.

part mural and part ad for botanicare products, a woman in many colours with long flowing hair, two large hibiscus flowers in front of her, on the side of a building in Denver

Alien Gardens, East London

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Mary C

blue sign for Allen Gardens that has been altered to say Alien Gardens, city of London , TOwer Hamlets,

looking across a park, grass in the foreground. A man is sitting on a bench in front of fence covered with graffiti and street art, including a painting of a big blue eye

below: An MCLN pasteup featuring his Plague Doctor character walking old streets. A lost world of memories? Or Memories of a lost world?

paper paste up by mcln of memory, characters in black top hats and black coats walking streets of the past

below: The London Overground passes the north side of the park.

train track bridge, brown girders, over a park with a graffiti and street art covered fence below the bridge

below: An unreadable sign.

triangular street sign with red border, unreadable because covered with stickers and spray paint

below: The northeast exit from the park is a walkway that leads to Brick Lane.

a narrow lane, with bollards to prevent cars from driving down it, low buildings on either side, with street art on the right hand side.

below: The northeast corner of the park.

looking across a park, grass in the foreground. A fence covered with graffiti separates the park from buildings, a new glass skyscraper in the distance along with some construction cranes and other new construction.

Jerome Street graffiti, Shoreditch

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Mary C

Just east of Commercial street in Tower Hamlets, Shoreditch is Jerome Street, one of many little streets in the area. The old home of Godfrey Phillips Ltd, tobacco and cigarette manufacturers is at the corner of Jerome and Commercial. The lower level with the red brick and large windows is now a restaurant.

a view up Jerome street, old industrial brick buildings.

below: It’s a bird, it’s a plane…. no it’s suit wearing mallards with proper footwear. Face the Strange.

three face the strange stickers, men with mallard duck heads and wings and wearing suits, are flying

below: Go fly your kite with this cute teddy bear by unify.

a teddy bear paste up or stencil sits on the sidewalk. he is holding a kite string in his paw and the kite is above him on the wall. A green sticker says go fly your kite. The signature says unify. the word unify is written many times in the kite in different colours to make a design on the kite.

below: An assortment of stickers and paste ups. A man with Mickey Mouse ears – Magic Kingdon, Join the Club. Three of the posters are in Italian – one is mostly obscured by the skull, the one below the skull translates to “I have the memory of a goldfish” and the one above Mickey ears is a longer description of how this person can’t describe is love for another. The poetry is the work of Movimento per l’Emancipazione della Poesia.

many pieces of street art, including a man wearing mickey mouse ears, a large grinning skull in yellow and orange, and poems written on posters in Italian.

below: A tribute to Prince

a paste up street art piece in tribute to the musician Prince, his head in profile in a heart with purple accents

below: Another assortment of stickers and paste ups. Another Join the Club, Mickey mouse based paste up – this time with “Where dreams come true”. Also, more Face the Strange but instead of flying ducks, we have fruit portraits. Do men look better with grapes or oranges instead of faces? I like the matching gloves on strawberry man. Lastly, I think that’s Queen Elizabeth in the pink and blue poster, along with I made you a moron. Think of it what you will. I suspect that the Rebel Rabbet sticker was added later.

stickers and paste up street art on a metal box and wall on a street corner including 6 posters by Face the Strange where men's portraits have fruits instead of heads, orange, grapes, strawberry, banana, and apple. Two other paste ups as well.

below: Stick figures with something to say, even if it’s things like “Danger is only safe in pairs”, “Once all this was just a memory” and “You can’t paint a hen”.

black outlined stick figures with white word bubbles, two people and a dog.

below: The whole wall (fence)

brown wall with barbed wire across the top, covered with graffiti

below: Another view of the street

looking down a short narrow street with three or four storey brick buildings on either side, construction of a building at the end of the street, covered with green netting on the bottom, and white plastic on the top

below: London beach on construction hoardings

construction hoardings covered with street art, a Road closed sign is in front.

Photos taken in September 2016

Eyes on the Streets

and feets on the ground. Graffiti, street art and murals seen while wandering the streets and alleys of our colourful world.

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